The Ties That Bind
by Rist6
Summary: My idea of how season 3 could play out. A bit of a focus on Jeremy/Bonnie and Anna and Vicky being back, but all the characters will be featured significantly throughout.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Anna…Vicky?" Jeremy stood in shock, unable to believe what was standing right in front of him. Vicky and Anna were dead, and had been dead for some time, yet here they were staring right at him. He immediately thought he must be dreaming, some reaction to everything that had gone down that night. But it didn't feel like a dream, it was far too clear and he was far too alert. Ignoring that feeling he finally let out a "This isn't real."

"It is real", Anna replied. "And we have a message for you, a very important one that you must hear", Vicky added, moving from behind him to stand right next to Anna. Still confused at the very scene that was unfolding around him, Jeremy curiously asked, "What kind of message?" Wasting no time in responding, Anna started "It's about Klaus…and how you must stop hi…" but was interrupted before finishing by the sound of the front door opening. Jeremy turned around and saw Elena enter the house. When he turned back Vicky and Anna were gone, seemingly vanishing into thin air.

"Hey Jer, what are you doing up? I thought you said you were going to sleep?" Elena said, alluding to the brief phone conversation the two had to check in on everything (Jeremy had purposely left out the whole getting shot and killed part). "Uhm, just getting something to drink", replied Jeremy quickly fumbling for an explanation. Elena moved closer to him, stopping when she noticed Alaric sleeping on the couch and gave Jeremy a puzzled look. "He decided just to crash here tonight", he responded. Elena gave a small smile; glad Alaric had stayed with Jeremy given what the both of them had been through of late. The smile quickly faded though as she noticed Jeremy with a very confused look on his face. "Is everything ok?" she asked in a worried tone. "Yeah, it's just been a rough few days", Jeremy replied not wanting to add to his sister's already huge list of things to worry about. "How's Damon by the way?" he questioned trying to change the subject. "He's better, the cure seems to be working", Elena replied still unsure if Jeremy was really ok or not. "Are you sure you're ok Jer?" she asked putting a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm fine Elena. I'm gonna go back to bed, see you in the morning". And with that Jeremy headed back upstairs but not before giving Elena a quick hug. He hoped that what he saw tonight was just his mind playing tricks on him, that all the stress of the past few days had simply caught up to him. But he couldn't shake the feeling that when the witches brought him back something changed in him. And what about that message, was he really supposed to stop Klaus? Him, a 16-year old kid with only a ring that couldn't even protect him from a gunshot against an unkillable, super-powerful, vampire/werewolf hybrid? Those thoughts occupied his mind as he returned to bed and fell back to sleep.

* * *

><p>Bonnie awoke to the sound of the front door opening. She might have been alarmed at the sound of someone entering her house very early in the morning, but it had become an all too common occurrence. She knew it was just her father, back from another late night at the office, which ever since Bonnie's mother left had become more of a home to him than their house. The office in this case was the same university that her Grams taught at. Their stark different views on magic were even reflected in their work, her Grams taught about the Occult while her father taught science. Bonnie knew her father knew about witches and magic and such, but he never talked about it and would quickly change the subject whenever she brought it up. She even remembers her father and Grams arguing on occasion about the subject. Magic had drove her apart from her father, even more so than her mother leaving did, and the more she became involved in all the supernatural in her life the more they drifted apart. On one hand she was thankful for it, him not being involved in her life kept him safe. On the other, she missed her father, as close as Elena and the gang were to her, he was the only real family she had. Not wanting to dwell on the matter much longer she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, only to be awoken a couple hours later by a text from Damon, "meeting, boarding house, 1 hour". Letting out a sigh, she got up, fully aware that the message meant there was some new threat or problem for everyone to overcome.<p>

* * *

><p>"So what's this whole meeting thing about?" Bonnie asked as she walked into the living room of the boarding house noticing Elena, Damon, and Caroline already there. "I'll explain everything once Ric and your little boyfriend get here", Damon responded, the smirk on his face slowly fading when he saw Bonnie glaring him down. "How's Tyler?" she asked turning to Caroline. "Him? I'm the one who got bit and nearly died", Damon interrupted. "He's fine", Caroline started, ignoring Damon's objections. "But I think something's going on with our moms. His called mine last night and was all angry at how she handled things last night. At least she doesn't know what happened with Jeremy; that would have been hard to explai..." Bonnie motioned to get her to stop, but it was too late. Elena stood up and with a half confused, half worried look on her face and forced out a "What happened with Jeremy?" "He didn't tell you? Or Bonnie or Alaric or Damon?" Caroline replied. "Tell me what?" Elena said, her voice raising slightly, looking at both Bonnie and Damon. "Don't ask me, I barely remember anything from last night", Damon said with a shrug. "Bonnie?" Elena questioned accusingly. Bonnie knew Elena wouldn't be satisfied until she knew exactly what went down.<p>

"First, Jeremy is completely fine", she said, hoping it would brace the impact of what she would say next. "Last night after we found out that Damon was on the loose, Jeremy went out looking for you to make sure you were alright. He found Damon instead in pretty bad shape and led him into the Grille before calling us. Sheriff Forbes showed up before we did though, she tried to shoot Damon but he sped out of the way. Unfortunately Jeremy was standing right behind him and the bullet hit him. His ring didn't work and Caroline tried to feed him her blood but it was too late. Alaric and me brought him to the witch house and I asked them to help. They refused at first but eventually agreed and brought him back." Elena put a hand to her head, a stunned look on her face. A look that was mirrored on Damon, completely unaware that any of that had happened the night before. "My brother nearly died…did die, and nobody thought to tell me?" Elena finally responded with anger mounting in her voice. "We didn't want to add another thing for you to worry about, like I said Jeremy is totally fine", Bonnie shot back. As if on cue Jeremy and Alaric walked in, totally oblivious to what was going on.

Elena was still angry at the whole situation, but upon seeing Jeremy that washed away as she ran over and hugged him, tears starting to form in her eyes. Jeremy realized that from her reaction and the looks on everyone's faces that she must have found out about what happened to him. He offered up some consolation as he hugged her back, "Elena, I'm perfectly fine, fully alive and all". There was no way he was going to bring up the whole seeing ghosts thing right now, especially since he wasn't even sure how real it was. "I know", Elena followed with, the tears pouring down her face now "but just the thought of almost losing you… I can't lose you. You're all I've got left". That last remark wasn't a dig at everyone else in the room, and they all knew what she meant by it. As close as they all were to her, Jeremy was her only actual family left. "You aren't going to lose me… now let's get this meeting thing started", Jeremy answered with a chuckle, hoping to change the subject and avoid the tears starting to develop in his own eyes. Elena seemed to agree, letting go of her brother with a smile.

* * *

><p>"So that's where we stand. Stefan has become Klaus's little minion, Elijah's dead…again, and we have no clue how to stop Klaus from taking over the world with whatever his diabolical master plan is", Damon summed up the explanation he had given everyone. "I don't think Emily and the witches will be much help, they seemed pretty clear on me not stepping foot in that house again after last night", Bonnie replied, giving a small smile to Jeremy who returned one of his own. Even if it meant never being able to go to them for help again, bringing Jeremy back was completely worth it. "Typical judgey witches", Damon smirked. "Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to go find Stefan and Klaus and try and get my baby bro off whatever blood-spree he's on and back to his Bambi-diet. You all are going to use every resource we have: the Gilbert journals, Isobel's research, the grimoires, Bing", he targeted that last one specifically towards Jeremy who couldn't help but smirk a bit. "Find a way to kill Klaus, there has to be some way to stop him". Jeremy's smirk shifted into a much more serious look, remembering what Vicky and Anna had told him.<p>

Everyone was on board with Damon's plan, except Elena who was adamant about joining Damon on his search for Stefan. She eventually convinced him to bring her along on the condition that when they closed in on them, she'd stay back and let Damon handle everything. As hard as it was for her to leave her friends and especially her brother, Elena knew that she had to find Stefan. And Jeremy would have Bonnie; it had become clear to her how much they cared about each other. Alaric would be there too, continuing to take on a fatherly role for Jeremy. And Caroline would keep everyone's spirits up. So her and Damon would set out the following day, spending days and probably weeks alone with him would be awkward no doubt, but it was necessary to find Stefan and bring him back. Meanwhile, Jeremy and Bonnie would go over all the grimoires and journals, Alaric would try to get his hands on Isobel's research, and Caroline would watch over everyone and try and keep the peace between her mom and the Mayor and rest of the Council.

* * *

><p>As everyone was heading out to hang at the Grille together on the last night before Elena and Damon would be leaving, Damon held Jeremy up, "Hey Gilbert, we gotta talk". "About what?" Jeremy replied not sure what Damon needed to say to him. "Look, I don't really do the whole gratitude thing, but you did literally take a bullet because of me last night. So thanks, and sorry for, you know, moving." Jeremy grabbed the vampire's extended hand and shook it, "Well you really weren't in your right mind, so it's not really your fault. But I guess you do kind of owe me, so there's something you can do for me". "And what would that be? Let me guess, you want me to compel all your teachers to give you straight A's?" Damon quipped. "No, I mean that would be great, but what I want is for you to just keep her safe", Jeremy replied, his expression turning entirely serious. Damon thought about replying but instead just gave a nod, letting Jeremy know he wouldn't let anything happen to Elena on their little rescue mission, before the two walked out; he was quite impressed seeing how far the kid had come in just a few months, from not wanting anything to do with his sister to caring more about her than anything. It also made him even more resolute in rescuing his own sibling.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Stefan awoke in some lavish bedroom of likely some huge mansion Klaus compelled his way into, the sheets he was sleeping on covered in blood from the victims of his latest escapade with Klaus. It had been a few days since he joined Klaus and they'd gone from Mystic Falls to now somewhere in Washington. Klaus had rarely been to the United States, so he thought a road trip across the country was a great way to get to see it. Stefan knew that was just an excuse, that he was using the trip to make sure Stefan was fully embracing the whole Ripper thing. And he was, but not like he had before. Before he had no control, it was just mindless killing and feeding. The killing and feeding were still there, but so was hesitation and doubt. It brought him both hope and suffering. Before he felt nothing, no remorse, but now he dwelled on every kill or near-kill. And as awful as that was, he knew that it meant he wasn't entirely lost, that the bloodlust hadn't completely overtaken him.

"Good to see you're awake. I think it's about time our little tour ended and we focus on more important things. We'll be flying to Europe tonight so clean yourself up", Klaus said quickly entering and then leaving the room.

Stefan was relieved their murderous spree was over, but terrified to see what their next destination would bring. Klaus had said he had plans for him, and they couldn't have just been to kill a bunch of people. No, Klaus had much larger goals, goals that Stefan was a part of. He knew Damon and Elena would try to come find him, but he hoped for their sakes they wouldn't succeed.

* * *

><p>"While you're young", Damon shouted honking his car horn several times.<p>

"I guess I should go", Elena said releasing her hug on Jeremy and waving back to him and Bonnie and Alaric as she walked towards Damon's car. The goodbyes were rough; mostly because she had no idea how long finding Stefan would take. But she knew she'd be calling back every day and they'd be updating her on everything they find or any trouble that springs up in town. She gave Damon a nod before getting into the car, he responded with a grin.

"So, do you have any idea where we're even going?" she questioned as they started off.

"Of course I know where we're going. I had your baby bro do a little research, seems there's a trail of mysterious "animal attacks" leading out from here. I figure we follow it and see what we pick up along the way", Damon responded while Elena recoiled in horror. She didn't want to think about what things Stefan might have done since having to join with Klaus. She only hoped the person she fell in love with still existed, that whatever he had become wasn't permanent.

* * *

><p>"You're firing me?" a shocked Sheriff Forbes shouted. She had just spent the last 10 minutes in a meeting with Carol Lockwood, the acting Mayor, and some of the other Council members. Although meeting wasn't really the right word for it, it was more of a scapegoating session blaming her and the police for the continued vampire threat in town.<p>

"Not firing, just replacing" Carol replied. "We admire the work you've done protecting this town, but we need a Sheriff that can once and for all rid this town of its biggest threat. We're bringing in a specialist, someone who's very experienced in the particular problems facing this town. He, and his team, will take over the Sheriff's Department, but you and your deputies are welcome to stay on under him."

With that Liz stormed out throwing her badge on the table. The Council had already made up their mind. This new specialist would be in town in a few days. Being replaced wasn't what really bothered her though; her only concern was for her daughter. It might have taken accidently killing an innocent kid, but she had finally started to see that vampires, at least not all of them, weren't just evil monsters that had to be destroyed. Caroline showed her that and for the first time since she and her husband split she felt an real connection to her daughter, and she'd be damned if she was gonna let a bunch of vampire hunters for hire take that away. First, she'd have to warn everyone about this new Sheriff. She wouldn't be able to handle this alone, but she knew where she could turn. She might not have the Council backing her, but there was another council of sorts in town, only this one was made up of vampires, witches, and humans alike. And it actually did protect the town.

* * *

><p>"Ok, thank you very much. Yeah, see you soon", Jeremy and Bonnie heard as they walked into the Gilbert house. Alaric was just finishing up a phone conversation.<p>

"That was Isobel's assistant Vanessa. She'll have Isobel's research ready when we get there". Not having any luck with the journals and grimoires, they had decided the next best option to find some info on Klaus was Isobel.

"Great, we can go tomorrow", Jeremy spoke up looking to Bonnie.

"Ok, I'll call Caroline and tell her to keep an eye on things".

"Planning a little trip are we?" a familiar voice entered the house with. A brief look of confusion came over the three of them but it quickly gave way to trepidation.

"Katherine", Alaric said as unwelcomingly as he could. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help silly", she replied but continued when she saw that none of them were buying it. "I am the one who saved Damon's life, remember?"

"And you're also the one who killed Caroline, nearly killed Jenna and John, and made me your own personal chew toy", Jeremy shot back.

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy it… OK fine. You are looking for a way to kill Klaus. Klaus still probably wants me dead, so him dying is very much in my best interests." She knew they'd buy that, she had made it very clear that she only looks out for herself, even though in this case she had less selfish reasons for helping.

"And how exactly are you going to help?" Alaric questioned.

"One, with her and Damon off on their little romantic road trip together, you never know when you might need a spot-on Elena impersonator. But more importantly, I knew Isobel better than anyone, even you Ric. If she had any research on Klaus, I'll find it."

"The more help the better I guess, but what do you guys think?" Alaric said looking to Bonnie and Jeremy.

"Fine, but one wrong move and you'll wish Klaus had killed you", Bonnie threatened with both a serious and confident tone in her voice.

"Ooh, you've got yourself a feisty one there Gilbert. Pick me up at the boarding house tomorrow" and with that Katherine sped out of the house.

"Well she was right about one thing, you are feisty", Jeremy joked, chuckling as Bonnie rolled her eyes and the two started upstairs while Alaric refilled his glass and plopped back down on the couch.

"If I pass out I'll see you in the morning… oh and try and keep things PG-13 alright these walls aren't all that thick", he directed at them, trying to be as parental as possible without sounding like he was.

* * *

><p>"So not only are Elena and Damon totally out on some rescue mission, now Jeremy and Bonnie and Alaric are going to Duke tomorrow with Katherine no less, leaving me here to look over things which might have been fine if my mom wasn't just fired as Sheriff for some crazy vampire hunter guy who will probably be looking to stake me the first chance he gets… sorry, I'm rambling again aren't I?"<p>

"Maybe a little", Tyler said with a laugh. "But don't worry about this new Sheriff bozo, he's probably some wannabe bad-ass who found out about vampires and now thinks he's Blade."

"You're probably right, but this whole mess really has our moms at each other's throats", Caroline responded. She certainly wasn't happy about those recent developments. She was still trying to ease her mother back into her life, Matt was still ignoring her, and she didn't want to bother Bonnie or the rest of the gang when they were busy trying to help Stefan and stop Klaus. Tyler was really the one person she could talk to.

"Maybe I should talk to mine when she gets home. You know, explain that vampires aren't what she thinks they are, tell her what I am and what my dad and Mason were".

"You could try. But do it as delicately as possible, my mom didn't come around until she killed Jeremy and saw me try to save him", Caroline answered.

"How is Gilbert by the way?" Tyler hadn't talked with him in a while. He knew Jeremy had kind of used him to get the moonstone, but with Elena's life being on the line he couldn't blame him. And he hadn't exactly been the nicest towards him. Still, he hoped that whatever weird sort of friendship the two had started to develop would continue. He was growing closer with Caroline, but it would great to have a friend who he wasn't attracted to, especially with Matt now seemingly out of his life.

"He's at home with Bonnie, I'm sure he's juuust fine", Caroline responded with a smirk on her face.

* * *

><p>"They were definitely here", Damon said walking back towards the car.<p>

"How can you be so sure?" Elena questioned. They stood outside a huge house in a suburb outside St. Louis. There was crime scene tape all around; three bodies were found inside all with bites marks and missing large amounts of blood. They had just come from the police station, the police were baffled by it, but with no other reasonable explanation they ruled it an animal attack.

"I was around back when Stefan was… this", Damon couldn't bring himself to say what Stefan had become. "It's a lot more hectic and messier than a normal vampire attack. Judging by when it happened, we're still a couple days behind them, we should get going."

"Do you really think Stefan could do something like this? Couldn't Klaus be compelling him?" Elena asked, not wanting to believe the man she loved was capable of this.

"I don't know Elena. All I know is we have to find him and stop Klaus. So let's get back on the road". Damon knew Stefan wasn't compelled, that he had become this monster on his own. But he also knew he only did it to save his life. Now it was his turn to return the favor.

* * *

><p>Stefan gazed out the window of the private jet he was on, heading off to some unknown destination for some unknown reason. He had tried to get Klaus to admit what his plans were, but he deflected each time, admitting he would reveal them in good time when he knew he could trust Stefan. Ironic, he thought, having to gain the trust of a vampirewerewolf that killed his girlfriend and her aunt and threatened to kill everyone he even slightly cared about if Stefan dared cross him. His thoughts shifted to Elena, trying to grasp what she was going through with him gone on top of everything else that had happened. He hoped that she might just move on, focus on Jeremy and her friends… and Damon. He knew his brother loved her and while the thought of the two of them together before made him jealous and angry, now he was almost hoping for it to happen. If he was really going to be with Klaus for an entire decade, he'd want the two of them to be happy and he knew Damon would keep her safe. Before he could dwell on the topic for too long, the hunger came striking back. As hard as he fought it, the urge to feed was overwhelming at times. As if sensing as much, Klaus walked over to him.

"It won't be long now. We'll be on the ground in the hour and you can feed that appetite", the grin on his face made Stefan want nothing more than rip his heart out right there and then. But he resisted the urge, if he was going to stop whatever plan Klaus had in motion, he needed to gain his trust and keep him believing he had completely given in to his former Ripper self.

* * *

><p>"Elena said they're heading up to Washington, that's where the latest mysterious animal attack was reported", Jeremy told Bonnie, just finishing a phone call with his sister and joining Bonnie on his bed.<p>

"What could they be doing? Just moving across the country attacking random people doesn't seem like it would serve much purpose".

"No clue, maybe Elena and Damon will find something when they get there. I just hope they don't run into any trouble", Jeremy responded with a very real level of concern in his voice.

"They'll be fine. Damon may have a lot of faults, but the last thing he'll do is let anything happen to Elena", Bonnie said putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Then, in an effort to change subjects, "So how about a movie, something funny to get our minds off all of this stuff and a put a smile on our faces?"

"Just sitting with you is all I need to put a smile on my face", Jeremy replied with a big grin.

"You're lucky you're cute when you're being so cheesy", she said with her own smile forming. And with that Jeremy moved in and kissed her. Bonnie returned the kiss and fell back onto the bed with Jeremy on top of her, their lips never parting. The kissing stopped momentarily when Jeremy heard a noise coming from the hallway and raised his head to look.

"What is it?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know, probably just Alaric", he replied before rolling her over on top of him, leading to a giggle from Bonnie, and continued kissing her once again. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, opening them again to reveal Anna standing at the foot of his bed, his reaction nearly throwing Bonnie off the bed entirely.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie shouted both shocked and confused and clearly unable to see Anna standing a few feet next to her. Jeremy just looked to her with a worried expression on his face. It clearly wasn't just a one-time thing or some stress-induced hallucination, he was seeing Anna and it was entirely real.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"I don't get it… Anna, Vicky? I mean they're dead, how could they possibly…", Bonnie stopped mid-sentence as a sudden realization came over her. "Consequences…".

"What?" Jeremy responded not knowing what she meant but realizing the light bulb that had gone off in Bonnie's head.

"The witches, Emily, when they brought you back they warned that there would be consequences for it, that they'd be going against the natural order of things".

"Guess she's not as dumb as she looks", Vicky said, knowing full-well that Bonnie wouldn't hear her. But Jeremy did, he resisted the urge to tell her to shut it as that would no doubt lead to even more confusion for Bonnie, so he instead just shot her a glare.

"She is right though", Anna finally spoke up. "We were brought back because of what the witches did in bringing you back".

Jeremy relayed what she said to Bonnie, and then turned to Anna. "You said before that you had a message, about Klaus?"

"Yes. It's the reason we're here. You have to stop him, only by doing so can you correct the balance." She continued, aware that the look on Jeremy's face was still one of confusion. "Klaus breaking his curse should never have happened, just as you coming back should never have happened. However, by stopping Klaus you will restore the natural order, and by doing so correct the imbalance of you being brought back."

"What happens if I don't? Because last I checked Klaus was still an unkillable super-being ", Jeremy responded, raising his hand to Bonnie to tell her that he'd tell her everything they were telling him once he got all of it.

"Well there's the fact that Klaus will probably take over the entire world, killing tons of people in the process", Vicky jumped in first with.

"And your very existence will be in opposition of the natural order. The implications of that will be great, Death itself will haunt you at every turn and pain and despair will accompany you and all those you care about every day you still walk the Earth", Anna followed with. She then offered an explanation to a question Jeremy no doubt wanted to ask but ignored in favor of the more important issues facing him, "As you have seemingly surmised, she speaks not with her own tongue. Those words were of monumental importance and must be spoken by that which has authority on them. Having done so, my responsibility here is done."

"Weird isn't it? Thank God it's over, she's been talking like that ever since we got back, really started to get annoying" Vicky replied echoing Jeremy's thoughts on what he just heard.

"So whatever that thing was it needed to deliver this message to me, but if that's it then why…" Jeremy was cut off before he could finish.

"Why us?" Anna cut Jeremy off, sounding much more like herself, and knowing exactly where he was going. Following a nod from Jeremy signaling that that was what he wanted to know, she briefly hesitated before finally explaining, "These forces have a weird sense of irony. It was Bonnie's love that convinced Emily to bring you back, so they chose the two people who loved you in that same way… now I think that's enough life-altering revelations for the night, let's go vamp-newbie". Anna gestured to Vicky who rolled her eyes but didn't protest.

"Wait, what about how I'm actually going to stop Klaus? Or what else being brought back changed in me?" Jeremy shouted hoping the two weren't already gone to wherever it is they go.

"You'll find out soon enough. Just keep following the path you're on for now, it will give you some answers. We'll be checking in again soon," Anna's voice replied.

Jeremy went over everything they had told him with Bonnie. She didn't know how to react to it. She heard the witches tell her about consequences, but she thought they would be hers: losing her powers, never being able to consult them again, but not all of this.

"I'm sorry Jer, this is all my fault", she said with her eyes starting to water.

"No Bonnie, it's not. If it wasn't for you I'd be dead right now. You saved me", Jeremy responded using his finger to collect the tear sliding down her face. "Who knows, maybe this will turn out to be a good thing. Like those forces will give me special powers and I'll become like a superhero", he said trying to lighten the mood.

Bonnie chuckled and decided to follow suit, "You would look good in spandex". Jeremy let out a laugh of his own as Bonnie then rested her head on his shoulder while he wrapped an arm around her.

"Bonnie?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah?"

"Anna mentioned something earlier", he said about to bring up the one detail he had left out before. "She said that it was your love that brought me back… is that true?" he asked.

Bonnie was a bit startled by the question, but quickly realized there was no point in keeping the truth to herself and she looked up into his eyes and answered, "Yes Jeremy… I love you".

Looking back at her with a smile on his face, Jeremy softly replied, "I love you too Bonnie".

* * *

><p>Elena opened her eyes, noticing the car had stopped and Damon was gone. She raised her head to look out the window and noticed the bright sign reading "Motel". She saw Damon walking back towards the car and got out to meet him. "What are we doing here?" she asked.<p>

"What most people do at a motel, getting a room for the night", he responded.

"But you said we weren't going to stop, we would take turns driving and sleeping until we caught up with Stefan".

"We're 20 or so hours out from our next stop, if we keep driving we'll get there late at night and we won't be able to talk to the police and find out what they know. So better to stop for the night and pick up in the morning. Besides, you looked like you could use a real night of sleep on a bed that isn't going 70 down a highway", Damon explained. He made up the whole police thing, he was really only concerned for her, and Elena was looking a mess, all the stress and lack of sleep weighing on her.

"Oh", Elena replied, a hint of appreciation in her voice. "But since you probably compelled the manager anyway, you couldn't have picked some first-class hotel instead of a rundown motel?" she then asked in a mostly joking manner.

"We're on the road traveling across the country, a cheap motel is mandatory", he responded. "Now let's go get some rest, it's another long day of driving tomorrow. "

"Only one room?" Elena asked as they walked to the door matching the key Damon was holding.

"Relax, there's two beds… but we don't have to use both…", Damon smirked as Elena just rolled her eyes and collapsed into one of beds.

* * *

><p>"Oh, hey honey", Carol Lockwood said entering her house and seeing her son.<p>

"Hey mom, how was the meeting? I heard something about a new Sheriff or something?"

"Yes, we decided to bring in some outside help to really secure the town", she replied struggling at first to find the right words to tell Tyler the truth without revealing much of it.

"You mean deal with the vampires". Tyler had thought about what Caroline had said, being delicate, but he decided to just come right out with it.

"Vampires? What are you talking abou…" was all she got out before he interrupted.

"I know about them mom, I know a lot actually. And I know you're bringing in some hunter to deal with them."

"How? Mason, that Jules person? Or no, it was Caroline wasn't it? Her mother told her and she told you", she said clearly displeased.

"It doesn't matter how I know, what matters is that I do know. And I don't think you should bring in some crazy hunter to take out some problem that really isn't even there and probably get a lot of innocent people hurt in the process", Tyler had a forceful tone to his voice, a tone his mother noticed was very close to the one his father had.

"Look Tyler, I know you're probably scared and confused by all of this, but just trust me. These things are monsters, we have to get rid of them or they will tear this town apart".

"They're not all monsters; they can be just as human as us", Tyler shot back, the irony not escaping him that he referred to himself as purely human.

Carol was taken aback by what he said, implying that he had seen, even met vampires. But she still tried explaining it to him, "I don't know what you've been told or seen, but they are all monsters, regardless of who they might have been before".

"What if I was turned into one? Would I be just some monster to you, would you just have this new Sheriff kill me?" Tyler responded, using the scenario as a way to see how his mother might respond to knowing he was a werewolf.

"That doesn't matter, because you aren't and won't ever be one, I'll make sure of that. Now I have some important calls to make, we'll talk about all of this later. Until then I want you to not worry about it, and I want you to stay away from Caroline, I don't trust her mother right now and who knows what kind of danger she might get you in". And with that she walked away, not even giving Tyler the chance to object. He certainly wouldn't be staying away from Caroline, but he did have to find a way to get his mother to understand. Understand what he was, what Caroline was, and understand that they weren't monsters, that they were the same people they've always been. No, they were even better people than they used to be.

* * *

><p>In what might have been the most awkward 5-hour drive in history, Alaric, Jeremy, Bonnie, and Katherine were finally nearing their destination. There was very little talking most of the way, partly due to the uncomfortable nature of being in such close proximity to Katherine, and partly due to what had happened the prior night with Jeremy. He and Bonnie told Alaric about it shortly after but they had no intention of filling Katherine in on it. Alaric was a bit shocked but got over it quickly, as he put it, "You seeing ghosts is maybe the 8th craziest thing to happen since I've come to this town". The three decided to wait for Elena and Damon to get back before telling them, it's kind of one of those things you kind of have to tell in person. Katherine tried a few times to get some conversation going, clearly bored out of her mind at the silence, but was shot down each time. She settled for taking control of the radio for the length of the drive.<p>

"We're here", Alaric said as he pulled the car to a stop outside one of the large buildings on campus.

"Finally. Now let's make this quick, after that ride I could use some fun and what better place to find some than a college campus?" Katherine said as they got out of the care.

"We're finding what we need and then we're leaving, we're not here for your enjoyment", Alaric cut her off as they walked into the building.

"Fine", she responded without much sincerity in her voice.

"Ric!" a voice shouted from inside.

"Vanessa, it's good to see you again", Alaric replied before an awkward almost hug turned handshake.

"You too, and you Elena, I promise I won't try to shoot with a crossbow this time thinking you're Katherine this time", Vanessa joked.

"Oh… thanks", Katherine said sarcastically. Everyone decided it would be best for her to just pretend to be Elena while here not knowing how Vanessa might react otherwise.

"And this is Jeremy, Elena's brother, and her friend Bonnie", Alaric introduced.

"Nice to meet you all, I'll take you to Isobel's office, and I think I might have found something that could help you".

* * *

><p>"You aren't going to worry about who we are, you are going to tell me everything about the case", Damon said looking deeply into the officer's eyes.<p>

"We thought it was just some crazy animal attack, and the girl's story confirmed that", the officer responded.

"Girl, what girl?" Damon questioned back.

"We found her in the house, she was just sitting there. We took her to the hospital and she told us her and her friends snuck into the house and were attacked by some kind of animal. She was the only one who survived it."

"Is she still at the hospital?"

"Yes."

"Ok, now you're going to forget we were ever here", Damon said again looking deep into the officer's eyes before he and Elena walked out of the police station.

"I don't get it, this has to be Klaus and Stefan, but that girl said differently. Why would she lie?… unless…", Elena asked as they got back into the car.

"Unless she was compelled", Damon interjected. And with that the two drive off towards the hospital. They got there and after a bit more compulsion they found the room where the girl was. She looked to be in her late teens or early twenties, there were bite marks all over her neck and a blank expression on her face.

"Excuse me, miss?" Elena said as they approached her bed.

"Are you his brother?" the girl questioned looking at Damon, who was first confused but slowly began to realize the situation.

"Yes", he responded.

"He has a message for you. He says you need to stop trying to find him, he's left the country and you shouldn't come looking for him. He has to do this and you and Elena and everyone else needs to move on with their lives. He knows you'll never want to stop but he needs you too, if not for yourself than for her. Klaus won't let him go and if you turn up he'll kill all of you" And with that the blank look disappeared from her face, she looked around confused. "Wha…what happened?"

"You were attacked by some kind of animal, that's all you can remember. You're going to stay in this hospital until you get better and then you are going to go back to living your life", Damon said, once again looking deep into someone's eyes. Then, turning to Elena, "Let's go, we're done here".

"What was that all about, she knew who we were? Did Stefan compel her?"

"It looks that way, he knew we'd eventually track him down and used her to get us a message", Damon answered as they walked back towards the car.

"Where to now? She said they left the country; maybe we should go to the nearest airport and see if we can find what flight they took", Elena questioned.

"No, we're going back to Mystic Falls", Damon assertively responded, causing Elena to stop.

"So we're just giving up, just like that?"

"No, we're not giving up. But Stefan's right, if we get much closer we'll only be putting his life and ours in danger. We need to find out how to kill Klaus first, and then we'll go looking for them. So right now we're going back. Hopefully everyone found something useful on how to take him down" Damon said as the two got back into the car. He wanted to keep going, but he knew the right move was to go back. He just hoped Stefan could hold out a little longer.

* * *

><p>Upon landing, Stefan and Klaus immediately got into a car that was waiting for them. Stefan wasn't sure where they were, what country even, but as they drove he started to realize they were likely somewhere in England, where he knew Klaus lived for some amount of time and where Katherine first met him. The car stopped in front of a massive castle and the two got out, Stefan stopping to admire the structure.<p>

"Welcome to my home. I should probably upgrade to something more modern but what can I say? I'm a sucker for the classics. Come in, I'll give you the grand tour", Klaus said gesturing for Stefan to enter. Stefan followed him around, noticing that most of the place was rarely used. He noticed several servants throughout, all likely compelled, as well as what looked to be guards. They eventually came to a large study, which from the looks of it was where Klaus spent most of his time. "I assume you have lots of questions about what exactly you're doing here and what my plans are", Klaus asked turning to Stefan.

"Just one", he replied. "Why me? There has to be plenty of much stronger vampires you could have help you".

"True, but you're special, in a way you don't even realize", Klaus answered.

"How?" Stefan questioned back.

"Do you know what a Ripper really is Stefan? And I mean a true Ripper", Klaus replied. Stefan hesitated to answer. He had certainly heard the word before, but he assumed it just meant a vampire that shut off their humanity entirely and became fueled only by their blood lust, that there was nothing special about it.

"Well, maybe it's about time you learned what you truly are."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"I'm a vampire; there are hundreds of us out there". Stefan couldn't believe that he was somehow special enough to make Klaus want him. He had met plenty of vampires before stronger than he was, what made him somehow unique?

"You are a vampire, yes, but you're also much more than that. You, Stefan, are a _Ripper_", Klaus replied taking a seat in one of the lazy boys and reaching for the bottle of scotch next it. He poured two glasses of it, handing one to Stefan and motioning for him to take a seat.

There was that word again, Ripper. The way Klaus said it made it sound important. "So you've told me, but you've yet to explain what in the hell a _Ripper_ even is."

"It's an abomination", Klaus said in a very serious tone before letting out a chuckle. "Or that's what those damn witches would call it. I'd call it a near-god". Stefan had become even more confused by that, which Klaus picked up. He looked down for a moment, thinking of the best way to explain it all.

"Thousands, possibly millions of people have been turned since I and my family became the very first vampires many years ago. Of all of those new vampires, very rarely something special happens. The vampire comes into being with a certain… mutation you could call it. A mutation that makes that vampire more powerful than anything walking this Earth, present company excluded of course. Of all the years I've been around there have been 3 such instances of this mutation that I've been aware of, the first two are long since dead, and the third Stefan, is you."

"So I have this… this mutation. What does it do? I don't have any special abilities that set me apart from other vampires".

"You do, Stefan, you just haven't realized them yet. Think back to your days as a Ripper, you could sense something couldn't you, like a power rested deep inside you just waiting to come out. And with every kill, every drop of blood, that power creeped closer and closer to the surface. You could feel it, you wanted it, but you were stopped before you could reach it." Stefan could barely believe what Klaus had said. He described it exactly as Stefan remembered it. He had felt it, but when Lexi found him and stopped him, the feeling went away. Klaus sensed the astonishment, "I've been keeping an eye on you for a long time Stefan, I know all there is to know about you".

"The power, what is it?" Stefan asked.

"We'll get to that later. For now I'll have a servant show you to your room so you can rest. Tomorrow is a big day, tomorrow you truly embrace what is inside you. No more ill-advised attempts at trying to hold on to your humanity and resisting it." Again Klaus responded to the shocked look on Stefan's face. "I've told you before Stefan, I've been around a very long time, I'm not fooled easy."

* * *

><p>"These notes here, I found them in Isobel's stuff." Vanessa pulled several sheets of paper out with writing scribbled all over them.<p>

"Do they mention Klaus? Or Originals?" Alaric asked.

"Not specifically, but they do hint at some kind of special book, that contains a way to, quote "kill that which cannot be killed". I don't know what book it's referring to though", Vanessa responded.

"A book like that Isobel wouldn't have just kept out in the open, she would have hid it", Katherine chimed in.

"Well, I guess we know what we need to do, start searching", Alaric instructed the group.

"Bonnie, can't you do that "find a certain book and have it launch itself to you" spell thing?" Jeremy asked her.

"Spell? Wait, you mean she's like a witch?" Vanessa replied as uneasy looks came over everyone else.

"Yes. I'm a witch. And no I can't do that spell, not without knowing the exact book we're looking for", Bonnie spoke up. She figured it wasn't worth it to try and convince her that Jeremy was joking or misspoke or whatever. A normal person yeah, but Vanessa knew about the supernatural and wouldn't be easily convinced.

"Last time it was a vampire, this time a witch, plan on bringing a werewolf next time Ric?" Vanessa joked, making it clear it wasn't a huge deal to her.

"Well we could…", Jeremy said matter-of-factly. Alaric gave him a light slap on the shoulder to cut him off.

"Well then… let's go look for this book", Vanessa replied with a look on her face that seemed to say "What have I gotten myself into… again?"

* * *

><p>Caroline walked into the Grille, looking to see if Tyler had arrived yet. She didn't see him around, but she did spot someone else… Matt. Ever since he walked away from her, saying he didn't want that kind of life, he just wanted normal, Caroline had kept her distance from him. She wanted to be with him, she wanted him in her life, but she understood how he felt. Still, she hoped that she could have it both ways; have him in her life, if only as a friend, but still keep him out of all the craziness that was now her life. That was the reason she had told Tyler to meet her at the Grille, why she came a bit early, and why she was walking towards him.<p>

"Hey." With all the thoughts that were flooding her head since she walked in, that one word was all she could manage to spill out.

"Hey", Matt responded but quickly went back to work.

"Could we maybe talk or something?" Caroline asked him.

"I'm working."

"I know, just like 5 minutes, please?"

"Fine." The two walked over to an empty corner of the Grille.

"Look Matt, I know you said you just wanted a totally normal life and I'm well, not normal. But I care about you; I want you to be a part of my life, even if that part isn't as big as what I wish it could be."

"I'm leaving Caroline. I got an uncle out in Ohio who is gonna let me stay with him to complete my senior year so I'm going out there in a week. I can't be in this town any longer… I just can't", Matt responded. And with that he turned back to continue working, leaving Caroline with a shocked, sad look on her face. As he started walking away, Tyler crossed his path. The two shared a look before Matt ducked to the side and back to where he was working. Tyler approached Caroline.

"What was that about?" he asked her.

"Uhm nothing… let's grab a table", she replied, still trying to process everything.

* * *

><p>"Any luck?" Alaric asked as the group converged back to Isobel's desk after splitting up to search around.<p>

"Nope, plenty of weird stuff, but no special Klaus-killing book", Jeremy responded.

"I told you Isobel wouldn't just leave it out in the open", Katherine smirked.

"Well maybe you could lend us some of your expertise then", Alaric shot back.

"Where's the journal that she mentioned the book in?" Katherine asked. Alaric handed it to her and she began to study the page, looking beyond just the words written on it.

"What are you looking for?" Jeremy asked curiously as the group crowded around Katherine and stared at the page.

"Isobel had sort of a thing for little puzzles and such. I'd bet she left some kind of clue to where she hid this book somewhere on this page", Katherine answered looking to Alaric, who nodded in agreement. He remembered that about his wife, she was always big on hidden messages and clues. After a minute of studying the page and as if spotting something Alaric reached for a pencil on the desk.

"Look here, three times she uses numbers" he explained circling a 6, a 1, and a 5, on the page. "But then she writes out the year here and two more numbers here", he said pointing to a spot on the page with the words "sixteen forty-nine", "two", and "ten". "Those numbers have to mean something".

"A combination maybe? Or a password of some kind?" Bonnie chimed in.

"Or maybe coordinates of some kind?" Vanessa spoke up as well having came back in just after Alaric noticed the numbers. They all began throwing out ideas, but none of them seemed to make much sense.

"What about a time? Like 6:15…", Jeremy said walking towards a square-shaped clock that sat on a shelf across from the desk but seemed to not be working.

"Score one for Gil… baby bro", Katherine replied, trying to keep the whole her being Elena ruse going. Jeremy then moved the hands on the clock to 6:15 and a clicking noise was heard. The face of the clock came slightly ajar. He pulled it open and reached inside, revealing a large book that quickly caused Bonnie to raise an eyebrow.

"It's a grimoire…".

* * *

><p>Elena sat with headphones on, watching some crappy romantic comedy being shown on the plane, but paying almost no attention to it. Damon had decided after driving across the country, they'd fly back to Mystic Falls to be there when Alaric and the gang got back. After he made arrangements to get his car back there, he compelled their way to a couple first-class seats. Elena still wasn't happy about abandoning their search for Stefan, even if she knew it was probably the right call. She was holding onto a hope, that if Stefan had taken the time to compel that girl to try and keep them from looking for him, trying to keep them safe, there had to at least be a part of him still there. She had seen him lose control before, but as long as a piece of him remained intact, he could bring himself fully back. Adding to her renewed sense of hope was the brief phone call she had with Jeremy just before they got on board. He said there might be something in Isobel's stuff that could help them but they hadn't found exactly what yet. By the time she was back in Mystic Falls they might have a way to kill Klaus and get Stefan from his grasp. It could finally be over; they could all start living mostly normal lives. She stopped herself from thinking too far ahead, but for the first time in awhile she had that hope. And as she turned her attention back to the movie, she couldn't help but smile.<p>

* * *

><p>"He's leaving town?" Tyler asked Caroline as the two were sitting across from each other. Caroline was hesitant to tell Tyler about it but eventually gave in.<p>

"Yep, in a week or so. He said he can't be here, and I really can't blame him. Besides, if anyone can understand that it's you. If what happened to your mom had never happened you would still be in Florida right now." Tyler wanted to make an argument about that, but he knew she was right. If he hadn't gotten that phone call about him mom being in the hospital he would have never came back, not yet at least. Still, the thought of his once best friend leaving wasn't all that easy to take.

"Did you try to convince him to stay? Should I try?"

"No, he's made up his mind and we should respect his decision and leave it alone", Caroline answered. She sure wanted to try and convince him to stay, but she wasn't going to. Part of her was mad at him for leaving, first her and soon this town, but part of her perfectly understood why he was. Having enough thoughts on the subject for one day, she looked to change the subject.

"So what did your mom say, about the new Sheriff and everything?" she asked.

"I told her I knew about the vampires and all", Tyler responded.

"What? I told you to be delicate, subtle, not charge right in with "Hey mom I totally know all about the vampires", Caroline nearly shouted at him.

"I know, but I had to tell her. Don't worry, I left out the part about you being a vampire or me being a werewolf or anything like that. As for this Sheriff, she seemed pretty convinced that he was the right play, he'll be in town soon whether we like it or not".

"Great, one more problem to worry about, I swear I better not get shot anymore because of this bozo", Caroline replied, leaving Tyler unable to hold in a laugh. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing… let's just get some food already", he said with a smile. Caroline couldn't help but smile too.

* * *

><p>Stefan looked at his surroundings, a lavish bedroom that most people would love to stay the night in, but he dreaded it. The thought of escape came across his mind. With how quickly he could move and how massive the estate was, he could be long gone in minutes. He could find a phone, call home and get Elena and Damon and everyone else he cared about to leave town. He'd join up with them and they'd go into hiding, live somewhere Klaus couldn't find them. But that really wasn't an option, living while constantly looking over your shoulder, having to pick up and move somewhere else at the slightest hint of trouble, that's what running from Klaus did to Katherine, he couldn't let it happen to him and everyone he cared about. As he was sitting on the bed, lost in these thoughts, he looked down and noticed a piece of paper by his foot. He was sure it hadn't been there when he sat down. Curious, he reached down and picked it up, starting to read what it said.<p>

"You are not alone Mr. Salvatore, you have allies within these walls, allies who want as much as you to put an end to Klaus. When the time comes we will help you do so, but until then you must go along with what he asks. Embrace what you truly are but fight your hardest to hold onto a shred of the good within you. Destroy this message after you read it, it is imperative that Klaus remain unaware of our involvement."

Stefan didn't know what to make of what he had just read. Was it true, were there people in this very castle trying to take down Klaus? Could he really bring out the Ripper within him while still keeping a part of himself? With no plan to think of otherwise, he figured it was his only shot to trust these anonymous allies. So with a new sense of resolve he tossed the note in the fireplace and went to sleep.

* * *

><p>"So can you read what it says?" Alaric asked Bonnie as she studied the grimoire. It was different from any one she had ever seen, she could read the words but they made no sense to her.<p>

"No, I swear it's almost as if it's spelled somehow to keep anyone from understanding it", she answered.

"Do you know a spell like that?" Jeremy replied.

"No, but I'm sure one exists, and it's bound to be in one of the grimoires the Martins had".

"Well back to Mystic Falls then I guess", Alaric responded. With that they all started to wrap things up and head back to the car and back home. Alaric lingered around a bit to say goodbye to Vanessa while the others headed out.

"Thanks for everything, again." Alaric said looking to Vanessa.

"No problem, glad I could help. I don't suppose you've gotten any update on Isobel?" she asked. Alaric was hesitant, but he figured she at least deserved a bit of an explanation.

"She's dead, for real this time. This Klaus guy compelled her to help him and then kill herself."

"Oh, I'm so sorry", Vanessa responded.

"He's caused a lot of suffering, it's why we have to stop him".

"Well I hope you do, and if you need any more help just call."

"Thanks… I should get going." And with a handshake he left. Meanwhile the others were nearing the exit of the building.

"I gotta go to the bathroom before we leave, I'll be right back", Bonnie said letting go of Jeremy's hand with a smile.

"Make it quick", Katherine snided, bringing a glare from Bonnie as she walked away. "And where the hell are you going?" she asked, noticing Jeremy had started to walk down the opposite hallway.

"Just uh looking around is all", he answered. What really drove him that way though was the sound of what he thought was someone calling his name. It was faint but was coming from that direction. He heard it again, this time a bit louder and continued to where it was coming from. He came to an office, it looked empty but the door was unlocked when he reached for it. He walked in and looked around.

"Hello, is somebody there?"

"Jer?" he heard a voice from behind him. He spun around and could only see a brief flash of someone but he was sure he recognized who it was.

"Jenna? Was that you?" he questioned. A couple days ago he probably wouldn't have believed his eyes, but now he fully believed what he had just saw. Getting no response he had an idea. "Anna, Vicky? Are you there? I know that was just Jenna I saw but I'm a little freaked. You said there'd be more to this whole thing, that seeing you two was just the start, am I going to start seeing everyone who's died? I could use some explanation here". Again he got no response, at least not from either of them.

"Jeremy Gilbert, seeing ghosts. Well that's a new one." Jeremy turned to see Katherine standing in the doorway with a smirk on her face.

* * *

><p>"Mayor Lockwood, there's a man here to see you".<p>

"Oh yes, send him right in please" Mayor Lockwood responded to the assistant standing at her door. A few moments later a gruff-looking man in his early thirties walked in, accompanied by a half-dozen equally tough-looking men. They looked like a modernized scene right out of the wild west, it would have been sort of comical if they didn't look so rugged and serious.

"Mayor Lockwood I presume? It's nice to finally meet you", the man said removing his hat and extending his hand.

"It's nice to finally meet you too Mr., or should I say Sheriff S…".

"You can just call me Michael, no need for such formalities," he cut her off.

"Well _Michael_, this is you team I assume?" she asked looking over the rest of the men standing behind him.

"They are, I came to believe we'll have more joining us?" he answered with a question of his own.

"Yes, the former Sheriff has decided not to stay on, but her deputies will be under your command, they're all in the know with the whole vampire thing. I'll have all of them meet you at the station when you're ready to go there", she responded.

"That would be much appreciated, we can head there…", he was interrupted before finishing.

"Mike? Oh there you are. Are you done here yet? I was going to go check out the school and apartment", the woman said entering the room. She bore a close resemblance in age and appearance to the man she was talking to.

"Mayor Lockwood, allow me introduce my sister and apologize for her interruption. I mentioned she'd be coming along".

"Oh yes of course, don't worry about it, it's great to meet you. You can call me Carol, Michael told me you were a teacher is that right Ms…".

"Meredith, you can call me Meredith", the woman said with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

It was another awkward 5-hour drive back to town for Alaric, Bonnie, and Jeremy. Katherine now knew about Jeremy and they could only assume that wasn't a good thing. Katherine, after the initial discovery, kept quiet about the whole thing. They might have taken the lack of talk to mean she wasn't all that interested in it, but this was Katherine. Her silence made them think only that she was brewing up some master plan to exploit Jeremy's situation for her own gain. Thankfully the ride back seemed to go by quicker than the ride there, and they found themselves outside the boarding house, Damon and Elena already inside having just gotten back themselves.

"Elena", Jeremy walked in and hugged his sister. Seeing Jenna, even briefly, had reminded him of just how important she was to him. Elena was a bit taken aback by the embrace but hugged him back.

"I've only been gone a few days Jer", she said.

"I know, it's just good to see is all", Jeremy replied with a smile.

"So what did you guys find?" Damon asked getting right down to business.

"This", Bonnie said putting the grimoire on a nearby table. "It supposedly can tell us how to kill Klaus, but it's spelled and I have to break it to be able to read it".

"There's always a catch… but I guess, assuming you can do whatever witchy thing needs to be done, that's one problem off the board", Damon responded.

"We've got a problem", Caroline exclaimed as she walked into the room.

"And I guess another one right back on, what is it Blondie?"

"There's a new Sheriff in town", the clichéd statement drawing some uninterested looks, "No I mean it, Mayor Lockwood brought in a new Sheriff, a vampire hunter supposedly".

"Well that's just great… any other pressing issues we need to add to the pile?" Damon half-jokingly replied.

"Jer?" Elena asked looking at her brother and seeing a look that said he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

"Your brother is seeing ghosts", Katherine answered for him as nonchalantly as possible.

"What?" Elena, Damon, and Caroline all responded in unison. "You mean like full-on Sixth Sense style?" Caroline added.

"Not exactly. Bringing me back to life screwed up the balance of the universe or whatever and now I'm seeing ghosts, or rather they appear when they want to I guess, and I've apparently have been chosen to stop Klaus and restore the balance", Jeremy tried to give as an abridged version of it as he could.

"So what ghosts exactly are you seeing?" Damon asked him.

"Vicky and Anna at first, they told me all that stuff, but earlier today I saw Jenna, only for a moment but I saw her. They said they'd come back and explain more but I'm still waiting on that", Jeremy answered. And then turning to his sister, who was looking as much shocked as anything "Look I'm fine, it was a shock no doubt at first, but it's not a huge deal".

"Not a huge deal? Jer you're seeing ghosts, you're supposed to stop Klaus, and who knows what else. It's bigger than just a huge deal", Elena shouted, the apprehension for her brother clearly apparent in her voice.

"Your sister's right, but there isn't much we can do about it right now", Damon stepped in. He then began to get a plan together. "Bonnie, take Blondie and find how to crack that book. Alaric, take Elena and Jeremy home, they could use some rest".

"What? I'm fine, I'll go with Bonnie", Jeremy protested.

"I'll be fine with Caroline, Damon's right you need some sleep, I can see the bags under your eyes. It's not a very attractive feature", Bonnie smiled. Jeremy thought of putting up a fight, but they were right, he was exhausted. Elena was just as tired and with the recent revelations she wanted to be with her brother, so she went along with the plan without a fuss.

"What are you going to do?" Alaric asked looking at Damon.

"As the head of the Council, I feel it's my duty to welcome this new Sheriff of ours to town", Damon replied.

"So… you're going to squeeze him to see what he knows and then probably kill him?" Alaric questioned.

"Yeah, pretty much".

* * *

><p>"Now that's more like it", Klaus grinned surveying the scene before him. The small abandoned farmhouse had become a scene of absolute carnage, blood everywhere, bodies thrown about the place, and at the center of the scene stood Stefan. The victims were a bunch of vagrants Klaus rounded up, people Klaus knew wouldn't be missed and whose disappearances wouldn't cause any suspicion. The last thing he wanted was anyone poking around so close to his home. That didn't make it any easier for Stefan though, he still hesitated at first, second-guessing his decision to go along with what Klaus intended for him. But he really didn't have a choice, not if he wanted to stop Klaus and keep everyone back in Mystic Falls safe. So he shut off his emotion and let his animal instincts take over. By the first kill he already started to feel a tiny bit of that power, that part of him buried deep inside.<p>

"This was just a warm-up though, the real test comes tonight. There's a small town a few hours from here, it's mostly isolated, a hundred or so people living there. You're going to wipe it off the map completely, remove any trace of anyone ever living there".

Stefan responded with an ear-to-ear grin, the Ripper side of him in almost full control. That many people, that much blood, he had never attempted anything like that back then. The thought of it excited him, he could very well unleash his full inner-Ripper by the time he was through. As Klaus walked out and he followed the grin disappeared, Stefan able to regain control of himself. He didn't think it would happen this fast, was he strong enough to keep a part of himself going? Or would what's inside him completely take over and leave him nothing but a monster on Klaus's leash? He hoped whoever those unknown allies of his were, they'd hurry up and show themselves, or their whole plan might be over before it even gets started.

* * *

><p>Alaric pulled up outside his apartment. He had just dropped Jeremy and Elena off and decided to come here. He wasn't ready to start living there again, all the craziness with Klaus taking over his body and Katherine being trapped there made him hesitant to do so. Besides, he liked staying at the Gilbert house with Jeremy and Elena, and the two had all but offered a permanent invitation for him to live there. Still, whether he took them up on it or just stayed there for awhile until things calmed down a bit, he would need some clothes and things. As he got out he noticed a woman unloading a couple of boxes from her car, a new tenant no doubt.<p>

"Need a little help?" he asked her.

"Help would be great, but I don't want to bother you", she replied.

"It's no bother, besides I'm on my way in anyway", Alaric answered picking up one of the boxes.

"Oh you live here?"

"It's a bit complicated, but yeah I do. Alaric Saltzman, you can call me Ric though, for obvious reasons", he said reaching out a hand.

"Nice to meet you Ric, I'm Meredith", she responded with a chuckle, shaking his hand as the two walked into the building. "So, Ric, what is it that you do here in Mystic Falls?"

"I'm a teacher, history, at the high school".

"Really? I'm a high school teacher myself, I just moved here and took a position teaching English".

"Well, I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other then", Alaric said offering a smile and placing the box down outside the apartment.

"I guess so".

"Well I should get going, you probably won't see much of me around here, but it's a pretty small town and school starts up again in a bit, so we'll run into other again soon no doubt. It was nice meeting you Meredith".

"And you, Ric".

* * *

><p>"You still mad at me?" Jeremy asked walking into his sister's room and leaning in the doorway.<p>

"I'm not mad Jer, it's just this whole me telling you the truth thing should go both ways. I need to know when my brother gets shot and killed and brought back to life or when he starts seeing ghosts", Elena answered lifting herself up and sitting on her bed.

"I know, and I was going to tell you I swear, it just wasn't the kind of thing I wanted to talk about through a phone", Jeremy responded, moving over and sitting next to her on the bed.

Elena's expression softened, she made her point and whatever part of her was upset gave way to concern for her brother. "How are doing with it, seeing them and all?"

"It was a shock at first, but now it's just kind of weird you know? I mean it's so great to see them again, Vicky and Anna and even the brief bit of Jenna. But it's terrible at the same time, having to keep being reminded that they're gone and not knowing when or even if I might see them again. And what if this is just beginning? Mom, dad, Uncle John, we've lost a lot of people and who knows if one of them might show up. I just wish I could get some damn answers", he said with a mix of sorrow and frustration in his voice.

"We will get answers, if not from them then we'll find another way. And when we do we'll stop Klaus and you'll be back to normal", Elena said putting a reassuring hand on her brother's shoulder.

"What about you? Are you ok?" Jeremy asked, clearly alluding to the Stefan situation.

"I'm better, being back home with you and everyone, having a way to stop Klaus, and knowing Stefan is still out there and is still holding onto a piece of himself. It still sucks, but for the first time in a while it looks like there's some light at the end of the tunnel".

Jeremy just smiled in response. "It's one of the few bright spots you know."

"What is?" Elena asked, unsure what he was talking about.

"That even with all the crap that's happened in the past year, I still have you and even though I was kind of a dick after mom and dad died we're somehow closer than ever."

Elena felt her eyes start to well-up a bit as she reached over and hugged her brother. "I love you Jer".

"I love you too sis", Jeremy replied hugging her back. "Now I need to go get some sleep before I pass out, I'll see you in the morning", he said letting go of her.

"Goodnight".

* * *

><p>Damon made a call to Carol Lockwood and found out the new Sheriff had stopped off at the Grille to get something to eat, so that's right where he headed. He walked in and with the place mostly empty it didn't take long before he spotted him at a table.<p>

"You're the new Sheriff right?" Damon asked.

"I am, and who might you be?"

"Damon Salvatore".

"Oh the de facto head of the super-secret town council, please join me", the Sheriff said gesturing for Damon to take a seat.

"Thank you. Now Carol tells me you're some big-time vampire hunter or something?"

"You could say that, I've been hunting them damn near my whole life, as has my whole family for centuries."

"Really? And are you any good at it?"

"I know a thing or two", and with that the Sheriff pulled out a necklace adorned with nearly a dozen fangs, one of which he grabbed. "Each one of these I pulled out of the mouth of a vampire I killed, this one here was nearly a thousand years old".

"That's… creepy. So you really think this town is in need of someone with your…expertise?" Damon replied in as patronizing a tone as he possibly could.

"Well Mr. Salvatore, this town definitely has a vampire problem. Now just how big, we'll have to wait and see. For all we know they could be swarming this town, even posing as normal, upstanding citizens like yourself. But don't worry, me and my team will wipe this town clean of any and all of them. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get back to the station. It was great meeting you Mr. Salvatore, I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of each other real soon", and with that he got up, threw some money down on the table, and walked out.

"This is definitely going to be a problem", Damon thought to himself as he watched the Sheriff leave.

* * *

><p>"Here we go, this looks like the right spell", Bonnie exclaimed as she traced her hands across the page of one of the grimoires. Her and Caroline had gone through a half dozen of the things as they sat in a pile in Bonnie's room, but it seemed like they finally had what they needed.<p>

"Ok, so what now? Just light a candle and say a few words?" Caroline asked.

"Actually that's about it. This looks like a pretty basic spell, even undoing it shouldn't be all that hard". Bonnie answered. And with that she put spelled grimoire on the floor, lit a few candles and circled them around it, and began to try and unspell it. Much to her surprise though, the spell protecting the book was far stronger than she thought possible. She focused more intently, drawing more of her power which brought with it the far too common nosebleed. Her focus was broken by a freaked out Caroline shaking her.

"Bonnie! Bonnie!", she yelled with a true look of concern on her face.

"It's ok, I'm fine", Bonnie returned, knowing she hadn't used enough of her power to do anything worse than the nosebleed.

"What happened? I thought you said it was a simple spell?"

"It is, but it was much stronger than it should be. I should be able to break a spell like that even if it was put on by a really powerful witch. It doesn't make any sense", Bonnie responded. "Whatever is protecting this book, it's not something I've ever read about".

"Bonnie, you here?" the girls heard a voice shout from downstairs.

"It's my dad, shove all this stuff under the bed!" Bonnie said to Caroline as the two hurried to hide everything. "Yeah dad, I'm up here!" she responded once they had taken care of that.

"Hey sweetie, oh hi Caroline, it's been a while since I've seen you. How's your mom?"

"Hi Mr. Bennett, she's fine, a little bummed with being replaced as Sheriff though".

"I heard about that, it's a shame. I thought she was doing a fine job. So what are you girls up to?" he said looking around the room.

"Oh not much, just hanging out, girl stuff" Bonnie answered with a smile.

"I see… well I guess we'll just order out dinner. Will you be staying Caroline?"

"Uhm sure I guess", Caroline replied.

"Ok, let me know what you guys want and I'll call".

"Ok", Bonnie said as she waited for her dad to walk back down the stairs. "That was close".

"Your dad doesn't know about you, you know being a witch and all?" Caroline asked wondering the need for the secrecy thing.

"He knows, but he really doesn't want me practicing it for some reason he's never quite explained", Bonnie responded.

"Oh, well I guess he must not have noticed the smell of the candles then".

"I guess not", Bonnie said, with a real lack of certainty.

* * *

><p>Jeremy awoke in his room, glancing over to his alarm clock he saw it was just after 2 in the morning. He turned over in his bed to go back to sleep but was startled by a figure sitting on the edge of it, nearly jumping right back off the bed. After settling himself he recognized the figure.<p>

"Anna?"

"Back again, as promised", Anna replied.

"Where's…?"

"Right here", Vicky said walking into the room.

"Is it at all possible you guys could give a warning before just appearing? Or at least pick a time other than the middle of night when I've just woken up?"

"Eh, it's easier this way, you're barely ever alone any other time", Vicky answered.

"Well whatever, you're here and I'm glad to see you and all, but I could use some answers", Jeremy said sitting up in his bed. He lowered his voice midway through realizing that Elena was asleep a room over.

"I figured as much, we'll answer whatever we can", Anna responded.

"Earlier, I saw Jenna, only for like a second but she was there".

"Wait you saw her?" Anna questioned while giving Vicky a curious look.

"He must be further along then they thought" Vicky said in response.

"Further along in what, and who's _they_?" Jeremy asked.

"_They_ are who we answer to, what was speaking through me the last time, the powers that be or whatever. Anyway, we're not the only used-to-be-alive people you are now able to see", Anna explained.

"So I really am seeing ghosts, well other ghosts…".

"It's not quite that simple Jer", Vicky said back.

"You have an ability, you can see those who have died, even make them appear when you wish, but like most abilities it won't happen all of a sudden and you have to learn to master it. You seeing Jenna was the start of it, soon you'll start seeing more, mostly people you knew or had some connection to. Then, you'll start to be able to call on them, make them appear anytime you want. Learning that is vital to stopping Klaus", Anna explained.

"How do I learn to use an ability I don't even know I have?" Jeremy asked in response.

"There isn't any instruction manual or anything, but you'll figure it out", Vicky answered.

"And about this whole stopping Klaus thing…"

"We can't give you any exacts on that Jeremy, sorry", Anna replied.

"Well why the hell not?"

"Because those "powers that be" are a bunch of cryptic, uninvolved jerk-offs", Vicky spat out.

"They've made it clear, they will help you and guide you, but they can't be actively involved", Anna added.

"So how about some help or guidance then?" Jeremy asked.

"You're on the right track, that book you found holds a lot of answers. Unlocking it though won't be as easy as you thought. Bonnie is gonna need some help, the kind of help that only powerful magic can provide", explained Anna.

"That could be a problem, those dead witches are kind of pissed at her", Jeremy responded. Bonnie had made it clear that she wasn't welcome in that house ever again, and even if she could somehow get in, getting the witches to help would be near impossible.

"Well good thing she's not the only one around who can talk with dead witches then", Vicky replied.

"And there may be some help for her closer than she thinks", Anna added cryptically. "You know all you need to for now Jeremy. When you need more answers, we'll be back".

"Ok… so bye for now then I guess, oh and I haven't really said it yet, but it is great to see you again, both of you. I've missed you" Jeremy responded.

"We missed you too Jer", Anna said with a smile that Jeremy returned. Even Vicky, who had been sullen just about the entire time offered a smile in agreement.

"Next time, don't end it on such a sappy note Jer", Vicky said as the two of them disappeared. Jeremy gave a short chuckle and then laid his head back down to sleep.

* * *

><p>Damon sat at the bar of the Grille, still thinking about the awkward meeting with the Sheriff. He was joined by Alaric who stopped off on his way back to the Gilbert house.<p>

"There's something off with him, he had that same stupid "I know your big secret" smug look on his face as John did when I first met him", Damon said taking another swig of his drink. "And that vampire fang necklace? Why not just chop their heads off and mount them on your wall?".

"Maybe like some people I know, he just likes to show off and talk a big game…" Alaric responded smiling as he raised his drink towards Damon.

"Or maybe, like some people I know, he'll meet an untimely demise at these very hands", Damon said holding up both hands.

"I figured that would be your plan for dealing with it", Alaric responded taking a drink.

"It's fast, easy, and let's us focus on all the other massive problems facing us right now", Damon smiled back.

"Well at least try to not have it backfire in your face. I better get going, see you tomorrow Damon", Alaric said getting up and walking out.

"Have fun playing daddy" Damon quipped, raising his glass. He sat there for about another hour, trying to get his mind off everything going on. This new Sheriff, Jeremy seeing ghosts, and Stefan somewhere out there being Klaus's homicidal puppet. Not much good it did though, and he decided to just head home and get some sleep.

As he walked out of the Grille and into the dark of the night he made his way to his car. Just as he was getting ready to open it he heard a noise behind him. He managed to step to the side just as a wooden bullet shot past him. He sped to the spot it was fired from, finding the gunman. As he grabbed him by the neck, ready to end him, more shots were fired at him. He was able to avoid a couple, but several found their mark. Dropping to the ground, Damon was soon surrounded by several men, a couple of which pulled out large needles, jamming them into his skin and injecting. Vervain of course, and a lot of it. Even with his recent built-up resistance to it, it was enough to knock him unconscious. Just before he passed out he heard a recently familiar voice speaking to him.

"Don't worry Mr. Salvatore we'll take good care of you. I told you we'd be seeing more of each other real soon".


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Elena awoke early the next morning with more energy than she had had in a long time, the renewed sense of hope from the previous day and the night's sleep in her own bed acting like a shot of adrenaline-fueled motivation. She was ready to take on the world, to start coming up with a plan to stop Klaus and rescue Stefan, to help her brother, and she wasted little time getting started. She called Damon a couple times but got no answer, she assumed he was just sleeping still and decided to head over to the boarding house, waking him up if need be. She heard Jeremy start to wake as she headed downstairs and told Alaric for the two of them to meet her at the boarding house in an hour or so.

As she was making her way there she drove past the Grille and noticed something that caught her eye… Damon's car. Why was he at the Grille this early, the place didn't serve breakfast and wasn't even open until a few hours later? Maybe he just decided to walk home after a few too many last night she thought, it was only a 10-15 minute walk, much shorter if he used some of his vampire speed. She kept driving and got to the boarding house.

"Damon? You here?" she asked, loud enough that with his hearing he'd be able to hear it anywhere in the house. There was no response so she started looking around the place, his bedroom, the basement where he kept the blood bags, but no Damon. She tried calling him again but still no answer. Maybe he was at the Grille for some reason, she thought, as she head back out arriving at the Grille a few minutes later.

Lights off, doors locked, no movement, there certainly didn't look to be anyone in the Grille. After peering in the windows she walked to Damon's car and was shocked at what she saw. One of the windows smashed out, what looked like bullet holes in the side, and a few traces of blood on the ground. Something was definitely wrong. Elena quickly got back into her car and started driving home, that meet up with everyone would come earlier than expected and the issue at hand wasn't what she expected when she awoke this morning.

* * *

><p>"Rise and shine Mr. Salvatore!" the Sheriff shouted as one of his men splashed a bucket of water on a recently unconscious Damon slumped over on the floor. Damon awoke still a bit fuzzy, the large amount of Vervain not entirely out of his system. He was immediately hit with the shock of pain. Large wooden stakes were impaled in both his legs, his hands were bound to the wall by a chain and shackles seemingly soaked in Vervain. The effort they took to keep him from escaping was rather impressive he thought to himself.<p>

"Is this how you treat all your new friends", Damon quipped in his normal snarky tone.

"Just the ones I really like", the Sheriff quickly shot back. "What do you say we just get right down to business Mr. Salvatore? I think it's pretty obvious at this point that I know who you are, and more importantly, what you are. Now I'd like to avoid having to hurt you any more, so you just answer my questions and maybe you leave here without a stake in your heart".

"Intriguing offer, here's my counter… go to hell", Damon replied defiantly.

"They never make it easy", the Sheriff sighed and looked to one of his men. The deputy nodded and reached for another bucket, only this one wasn't filled with water. He poured the Vervain on Damon's legs, seeping into the wounds and burning like acid. Vervain hurt plenty on exposed flesh, but on an exposed wound it was far worse. The pain was intense but Damon managed to muffle his cries, fighting to not show any weakness.

"Now that you've got a taste of your other option, maybe you're more inclined to answer me", the Sheriff said.

"And maybe you're more inclined to screw off", Damon shot back.

Realizing that the tough talk and torture routine wasn't going to work on Damon, the Sheriff began to try a different tactic. He sent the 2 deputies out of the room and crouched down close to Damon. "Look Mr. Salva… Damon. I know you think I'm just some vampire hunter hell-bent on killing every last one of you, but I'm not. I know that you have a lot of people in this town you're trying to protect and care about although you'd probably never admit it. But trust me when I say this, I have no interest in you or your friends. You, your brother, and any other vampires living here are small fish in a very large pond. I'm after much larger game."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Damon asked confused.

"The reason I took this job wasn't to wipe this town clean of vampires, I took this job because it was a chance to get Him", the Sheriff answered.

"Him? Could you be a little more vague and cryptic?" Damon responded sarcastically.

"I believe you've already met him, his name is Klaus".

* * *

><p>Bonnie walked up the stairs and saw Jeremy's door open. She had called Elena earlier who said she should get to the boarding house in a bit, so she decided to stop and see Jeremy first. Alaric was in the kitchen drinking coffee and reading the paper, she couldn't help but smile at how similar the scene was to her own dad back when she was little. He told her Jeremy was upstairs and so she went up. She walked into his room and didn't see him, after calling his name she heard him answer back and turned around to see him standing in the doorway with nothing on but a towel around his waist, clearly just out of the shower.<p>

"Oh…uhmm… I'll go uhh wait downstairs I guess", Bonnie stumbled on the words trying not to stare at him.

"No it's fine. You can just turn around when I get dressed", he responded with huge grin on his face as he closed his door.

"Ok", was all Bonnie could say back as she took a seat on his bed.

"They came back last night, Vicky and Anna", Jeremy said changing the room in the mood in an instant.

"What? What did they say?" Bonnie asked.

"They said me seeing Jenna was just the start, that soon I'll be seeing more people and that I'll even be able to control it, call on certain people", he answered back, taking a seat next to her on the bed. "And they said something about that book, that you're going to need help to unlock it…".

"What kind of help? The spell that's on that book isn't like anything I've ever seen or read about".

"I'm not sure, but they said it might be a lot closer than you think", Jeremy replied.

"Well that's incredibly cryptic", Bonnie said back, leading to a grin and chuckle from Jeremy. "What's so funny?"

"I said that exact same thing when they told me", Jeremy responded.

"Well I guess it's one more thing to think about. Now you should really get dressed, we need to get to the boarding house soon".

"Elena wants us there in another half hour, and Alaric's still busy with his paper, so there's plenty of time…".

"Plenty of time for what?" Bonnie asked.

"For this", and with that Jeremy moved in and kissed her. Bonnie kissed him back, running her hand through his still damp hair. He moved away from her lips and started kissing her neck and she moved her hand down to his shoulders. They were so focused on each other that they didn't even hear someone stomp up the stairs. They were, however, shocked apart by someone barging through the door.

"Jere… oh god!", Elena shouted as she quickly turned around to face the hallway. Bonnie got up from the bed, her face turning red with embarrassment.

"So much for knocking I guess", Jeremy said.

"Sorry, it's just I think something's happened with Damon so just meet me downstairs… and put some clothes on", Elena responded still looking out to the hallway. Bonnie gave Jeremy a quick kiss and then followed Elena downstairs as Jeremy started to get dressed.

"Elena I'm sorry…" Bonnie said, her face still red.

"You don't need to apologize Bonnie, I really should have knocked and what you and Jeremy do together is none of my business and I really don't even want it to be. As far as I'm concerned that just then never happened, I didn't barge in on you and my nearly naked brother making out, so let's just never speak of it again, ok?"

"Ok". Bonnie responded with a smile, glad Elena wanted as much as she did to just forget about it.

"I heard you like scream, what happened?" Alaric asked as the two walked into the kitchen.

"Nothing, just an image that's been seared into my brain for all eternity", Elena said at first in a serious tone but then smiled and gave a few laughs, being joined by some chucking from Bonnie.

"Ok then", Alaric replied clearly unsure about what they were giggling about.

* * *

><p>"I'll be back in the morning. As much I'd like to stay I have other business to attend to. Don't worry about clean-up, I have people to handle that", and with that Klaus left Stefan alone, staring out at the tiny town he was going to decimate. He sat there, staring out, for several minutes, clearly torn on whether to even go through with it. His contemplation broken by a voice from behind him.<p>

"It's good to see you're struggling with this, our faith in you was warranted", a middle-aged woman said walking up to Stefan. She looked somewhat familiar but Stefan didn't bother lingering on it.

"So you're the one who sent me that note", he replied.

"Yes Mr. Salvatore, I am. My name is Grace and I'm here to help you", the woman answered back.

"Help me? How? I have no choice but to go slaughter that entire village of innocent people, how in the world could you help with that?" Stefan replied with real anger in his voice, not so much at this woman, but at the situation he found himself in.

"As you might have guessed from the way the note appeared, I'm a witch and there is a way that we can save these people and still let you unleash what's inside you. But you will have to trust me and do exactly what I say, can you do that?"

Stefan thought about the offer, could he really trust this woman he had just met? Then again what choice did he have, it was either that or do it Klaus's way. "Yes", he finally answered.

"Good, now here's what you need to do. Compel everyone in the town, get them all to go into that barn over there", she said pointing out in the distance. "I'll be there making preparations and tell you what to do next". With that she gestured for Stefan to get going.

Stefan made his way through the town, the small size and his speed made it easy to go from door to door. He made sure to ask at each house if anyone living there wasn't home. Within the hour he had rounded up the entire town and he walked into the barn to see all of them standing there. Grace was in the middle of it, surrounded by a series of candles she had set up.

"This is everyone, now what exactly are you going to do?", Stefan asked walking over to her.

"You are going to drain each of these people, one by one, but I'm going to use a spell to protect them. They'll seem dead for long enough to convince Klaus of it and you'll have brought out your Ripper side".

"But what about the people Klaus has clean up everything, they'll probably just burn the building down with everyone inside", Stefan replied.

"They will burn it down, but after these people have gotten out. I'm not the only one on your side in this Stefan. Now we should get started, we don't have much time before Klaus returns".

Stefan still wasn't entirely sold on this plan, but it was the only plan there was. He began to compel the villagers and one by one drain them of their blood, growing in power with each drop. By the time he reached the last of them he had already felt entirely different. Grace could nearly stand given the amount of power she had exerted. A couple of men who Stefan recognized as servants at the castle came in and helped her and took away all of the candles.

"Until we meet again Stefan", she managed to say before she was helped out of the barn. It was now just Stefan standing there, with the bodies of the entire town around him. Knowing they would live gave him some comfort, but the sight of it still made him incredibly uneasy.

"You really are a killing machine", Klaus said as he walked towards Stefan stepping over body after body. "I take it you're now what you are truly meant to be?" Stefan simply nodded in confirmation. "Excellent. I think this calls for a celebration", he smiled and led Stefan outside to an awaiting car. "Burn everything", he said to one of his guards just before they left.

They drove off and Stefan could see the smoke in the distance, but the placement of it was away from the barn. Stefan took that as a good sign, if the guard wasn't in on the plan he would have started with the barn. His trust in the witch seemed to pay off, those people were saved and he had become what he needed to be to finally put an end to Klaus.

* * *

><p>"It has to be that new Sheriff", said Caroline. She had just arrived at the Gilbert house with Tyler and Elena filled everyone in on the situation with Damon.<p>

"Ric you were the last to see him, do you remember anyone watching him or anything unusual?" Elena asked.

"No, he was his usual charming, drunk self. There was barely anyone else in the Grille by the time I left and I didn't notice anything strange outside", he answered.

"Well if Damon met the Sheriff there and didn't leave until after you, they probably were staked out outside, waiting for him to leave and they jumped him when he was getting into his car", Jeremy theorized. The rest of the group seemed to agree with it.

"The question is, where did they take him, if they did take him somewhere", Alaric asked as a wave of doubt washed over everyone. They knew this Sheriff was a vampire hunter and Damon was a vampire, there was a good chance they wouldn't find him, alive at least.

"We have to assume they took him to question him, find out what he knows about other vampires in town", Bonnie said, looking to Caroline.

"But where would they take him? I doubt they'd just bring him in to the station", Tyler added.

"That's what we need to find out", Elena replied.

"I could ask my mom, she might not be Sheriff anymore but she still knows the deputies, they might know where they took him", Caroline said. Even though Elena wasn't thrilled to go to the person who shot and killed her brother, it was their best and really only option.

"Ok, see if she'll help. Tyler and Bonnie you should go with her, who knows what this Sheriff knows when it comes to vampires. Me and Ric and Jer will check out the Grille again", Elena said, taking over the normal plan-forming duties of Damon. Everyone seemed content with it, so they went their respective ways.

* * *

><p>Elena, Alaric, and Jeremy arrived at the Grille shortly after it had opened. Jeremy went inside to see if there was anyone who remembered something from last night. Elena and Alaric went to check out Damon's car again. Alaric, after judging where the bullets had hit the car and likely Damon, went to the wall that sat a few yards away. He searched it, finding a bullet hole and after digging it out, a bullet.<p>

"Wooden-tipped. They definitely knew what they were dealing with", he explained showing the bullet to Elena.

Inside Jeremy found someone who was working the night before, they remembered seeing Damon there and watching him leave. Shortly after he heard some loud bangs, he had thought of possibly calling the police about it but right after a sheriff's deputy came in and said that everything was fine. His account seemed to all but guarantee that this new Sheriff had a part in it. He was about to go outside and tell Elena and Alaric about it but was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Jer", he jumped, clearly startled by the sudden appearance of Vicky behind him.

"Jesus Vicky", he said before moving off to a part of the restaurant where nobody else was, being seen talking to thin air would be awkward. "Where's Anna?" he then questioned.

"It's just me, this isn't exactly official business", she answered.

"What do you mean?"

"I need a favor Jer, you're probably not gonna like it, but it's something I need to do", she responded. "I need to talk to Matt and I need you to be able to do it".

"What?" Jeremy returned, partly unsure what she meant and partly reluctant to do what he thought she meant.

"I need you to talk to him, convince him I'm really here and convey what I say to him", she clarified.

"I don't know Vicky, he'll probably be more inclined to punch my lights out than believe that", Jeremy replied, clearly unsure about the favor being asked of him.

"Please Jer, I need to talk to him and I have a way to make him believe it's really me. What if you were dead but there was a chance you could talk to Elena one last time, what wouldn't you give for that?"

Jeremy was certainly impacted by her words. He thought about how close he's come to death on multiple occasions and what Elena would no doubt be going through if he had died. Vicky was right, there was nothing that he wouldn't give to talk to her in that situation. So as awkward as it might be, he had no reservations about his decision.

"Fine, I'll do it. But not right now, I have to help everyone find Damon, if he's even still alive".

"He is unfortunately, I don't have any special power to find him, but I would know if he was dead, heck I'd probably be celebrating. And thanks Jer, just we need to do it soon, Matt's leaving town in a few days and I'll probably never get this chance again once he does", Vicky responded.

"What? He's leaving?" Jeremy asked, even though he understood why he was. If it wasn't for Elena and Bonnie and Alaric, he'd probably be looking for the first way out of this town as well. Matt really didn't have anyone like that now, so staying just didn't make much sense.

"Yes, so we need to do it soon."

"We will", Jeremy replied. And with that Vicky was gone, his attention moving away from her, he noticed Elena and Alaric had just walked in.

"Jer, did you find out anything?" Elena asked.

"Well thanks to one of the bartenders, it's definitely the Sheriff who took Damon. And thanks to Vicky, he's still very much alive but I don't know for how much longer", Jeremy answered.

* * *

><p>Caroline, with Bonnie and Tyler, walked into her house and called out for her mother. Liz came downstairs, a bit surprised to see more than just her daughter there.<p>

"Bonnie, Tyler, it's uhh good to see you", she said in a slightly uneasy tone. She knew that Tyler was a werewolf and was hanging around with her daughter a lot of late. The thought that a simple bite of his would kill her made her wish he didn't though. And she had just a few days ago shot and killed Bonnie's boyfriend, so that sight wasn't any less awkward for her. "What's up?" she asked looking to Caroline.

"Damon's been taken, and we think this new Sheriff is behind it. We were hoping you could maybe help us find him", Caroline answered, getting straight to the point as time wasn't really something they had much of to spare.

Liz wasn't sure how to respond. She did have a new perspective on vampires, but especially with some of the things Caroline had told her of late, Damon didn't seem to exactly be one of the "good" ones. But he must do something right to have her daughter still trust him and want to rescue him. Plus, she really didn't like this new Sheriff and sticking it to him was something she would be glad to do.

"Ok I'll help. Let me make a few calls, see how much loyalty some of my old deputies still hold", and with that she walked into her office. Caroline and Bonnie and Tyler waited in the living room, and several minutes later Bonnie's phone rang. She answered it, talked for a bit and then hung up and filled the other two in on the call.

"That was Elena, she says they're now sure that this Sheriff was behind taking Damon and that he's still alive, at least for now", she explained.

"That's great and all, but we still have no clue where he is", Tyler replied.

"I can help with that", Liz said walking into the room. "One of my deputies who works for this new Sheriff now owed me a favor and gave up where they're keeping Damon. It's pretty heavily guarded though, it won't be that easy for us to get to him".

"Well we've got a vampire, a witch, a werewolf, a former Sheriff, an amateur vampire hunter… we're so set for this", Caroline responded with a smile. They all then headed out. One the way Bonnie called Elena back, telling her they found Damon. They would meet up a bit outside of the abandoned house Damon was being kept in and come up with a plan to get him out.

* * *

><p>"Well it's definitely abandoned, so Caroline will be able to enter", Alaric said as he returned to the group from scouting out the place. "There's a couple guards outside but no telling how many are inside".<p>

"Well the new Sheriff brought 6 men with him, and based on how many of my force are at the station, I'd say there's probably 5 or 6 of them there as well. So a dozen give or take", Liz gave what insight she could.

"Taking down the ones outside won't be an issue, but inside we'll have no idea where the rest of them or Damon are. We really need a way to see inside without being seen", Alaric added.

"Maybe we can… I'll be right back", Jeremy said before running off much to the bewilderment of everyone.

"Where is he off to?" Tyler was the one to ask.

"Not sure, but I'm guessing it's got something to do with his "visitors", Bonnie responded.

"You don't think he's gonna try and get a ghost to check out the house do you?" Elena spoke up not realizing that some there had no idea about Jeremy's new ability.

"Ghost, what the hell are you talking about?" again it was Tyler asking what was on some of their minds.

"Not really much time to explain it all, so the short version is ever since Jeremy was brought back to life he can see and talk to ghosts", Elena answered trying to get off the subject as quickly as she could on account of Liz standing right there. The uncomfortable look on her face made Elena know she realized it.

"Elena, I haven't yet said it to you or Jeremy, but I am so sorry for what happened, I never should have been so gung-ho that night", Liz said but Elena quickly interrupted her.

"It was an accident, that's how I see and that's how Jeremy sees it. Thanks to Bonnie he's fine, well except for the ghost thing, but what's done is done so let's just move on", Elena responded. She was telling the truth about Jeremy, he didn't hold an ounce of blame for Liz, but Elena did. She knew she wasn't trying to hurt her brother, but she still shot him and if not for the witches, she would have lost him, the only family she has left. Still, this wasn't the time or the place to dwell on it, so she diffused the situation and put the focus back on rescuing Damon.

A few minutes later, as they were still mapping out a plan, Jeremy walked back to the group. "Damon's in the basement, there's a couple guards outside the room and the Sheriff is in there with him. There's 4 guards in the room that leads to the basement, a couple upstairs, and a couple right inside the front door."

"So you really did send some ghost in there to look over everything?" Tyler asked him with a hint of amazement in his voice.

"Yep, she owed me for doing her a favor anyway… so now that we know the layout what's the plan?" Jeremy quickly left the ghost topic to avoid any more detailed questions about who it was or this favor he did.

"Caroline and Bonnie will take down the guards outside. Then Liz will cause a distraction outside to draw out the guards at the door out and then make a break for it. Caroline will go in, speed herself around and get the rest of the guards' attention and get them away from the basement entrance. Me, Bonnie and Tyler will get to the basement, take out the last two guards and deal with the Sheriff. We'll bring Damon out back where you and Elena will both have our getaway rides ready. We all get in, we drive away, Damon is rescued and nobody gets killed."

"Not a half-bad plan, you even know the whole layout and everything. But I'd have scrapped the whole nobody gets killed thing", a voice said emerging from behind the group. Much to everyone's surprise, Damon was there walking towards them.

"Damon… did you escape?" Elena questioned him. But the answer came not from Damon, but from the Sheriff who, along with several of his men, walked up behind Damon.

"Oh, he didn't escape, Mr. Salvatore here and I made a little deal. He goes free and I leave the rest of you alone and in exchange he helps me find and kill Klaus".

"Everybody wins… except Klaus of course", Damon quipped back.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"So this is what 150 years as a vampire gets you. It's nice, a bit too garish for my tastes though", the Sheriff remarked as he joined the whole gang in the boarding house.

"If you're through with the interior design critiquing, maybe we could move on to something a bit more important?" Damon snapped back.

"Like what exactly is this deal you two made?" Elena followed.

"Basically, I'm not gonna drive a stake through his heart and leave the rest of you alone, and in exchange you all get to help me take out Klaus" the Sheriff grinned taking a seat on the couch and stretching his legs out.

"And what do mean exactly by help?" Alaric jumped in with.

"I mean, you do whatever it is you need to do to kill him, I really don't care what that entails, but Damon seemed to suggest you have a plan already in place". They all looked curiously at Damon, knowing full-well that their "plan" relied entirely on a book that they couldn't read and weren't even sure would help them if they could.

"Look, witchy will find a way to read that thing, we'll learn how to kill him, then we'll lure him here, finish him off, and we all live happily ever after", Damon answered.

"See that's the spirit. One more thing, when it does come down to it, I'm the one giving the finishing blow. You've got a month, any longer and I'll have to assume you're just jerking me around, which won't be good for you. Keep me updated", and with that the Sheriff left.

"So being completely serious for a second, you can unlock that book soon right?" Damon asked turning to Bonnie.

"According to Vicky and Anna's ghosts I need some help. I have no idea who that help might be, so until I do they'll be no unlocking it", she responded.

"Well keep on it, and Jeremy, try and get something we can actually use next time those ghosts show up".

"I'll try, but they don't seem to be too inclined to spell everything out", Jeremy spoke up.

"So what now?" Caroline asked, speaking to everyone but focusing on Damon as he's usually the one coming up with the big plan.

"Until we get the book sorted out, there's not much we can do. Bonnie will keep on that, I'll see if I can find a way to track down where Klaus might be, but that's about it. So the rest of you I guess just do whatever it is you do when there isn't a super-powerful werepire on the loose."

* * *

><p>"I suppose you're wondering what now, why go through all that, what's my master plan?" Klaus asked Stefan, the two sitting in his office enjoying a round of drinks.<p>

"It crossed my mind", Stefan replied. Of course that very question had more than just crossed his mind, it had been all he was thinking of since he got here. Klaus wanted him and his power that much was certain, but to what end? Klaus was already the most powerful being on the planet, he had broken his curse, the only potential threats against him were all locked up in coffins somewhere with daggers in their hearts, so why bother going through all of this with Stefan? Was it just some sick enjoyment, or did he really have a plan that needed Stefan the Ripper to complete?

"I guess you've proven yourself enough to fill you in", Klaus said with a grin on his face. "You probably think my end game is some kind of world domination, use my newly reemerged werewolf side to breed an army and crush everyone and everything in my path", Klaus started. Stefan certainly had thought of it, as ridiculous as it sounded said out-loud, Klaus probably could do it. "Well I'm afraid my plans are a bit less comic-book super-villainy. No, what I'm after is far more personal. I suppose I should start with a story, a story that takes place a very long time ago, the story of my very family". Stefan wasn't sure where Klaus was heading with this, but he was certainly intrigued. "First though, what exactly did Elijah tell you about how we became the first vampires?"

"He said your mother had an affair with another man, a werewolf and your father. When her husband found out, he had that man and his entire family killed, somehow you became vampires and the war between vampire and werewolves began", Stefan recalled what he could from what Elijah had told them.

"I figured as much, he left out the whole part about how we actually became vampires", Klaus responded.

"And how was that?" Stefan questioned back.

"Witches" Klaus answered in a single word before starting a more detailed explanation. "Witches, like werewolves, have been around for as long as humans have. They claim to be stewards of the balance of nature, protectors of the world and all of that utter nonsense. But what they did to my family wasn't some attempt at correcting some balance. They did it only to see exactly how far their powers stretched. My real father, the werewolf, was a very well-respected and admired leader among the werewolves of the time. When he was killed the other packs wanted vengeance, but not just the man responsible, they wanted more. So they went to the top coven of witches and warlocks and asked for help. The witches had no interest in the dispute, but agreed to help. They said they could make it so that the werewolves would be able to keep killing the descendants of the man responsible for thousands of years to come, and the werewolves agreed. What the witches did though, was put a curse, the power of which had never been done before or since, on my family. We became vampires and the war between vampires and werewolves began. Of course with just a few of us we were far outnumbered, so the witches gave us more power making us unkillable and able to keep turning more vampires and keep the war going for centuries. And do you know why the witches did it all, Stefan? Just to see if they could, to see if they had the power to ignite a war, to create unkillable monsters, to change the course of history. And they did."

"You don't sound like a big fan of witches", Stefan said with a bit of sarcasm.

"Don't get me wrong, they have their uses when properly controlled, but their arrogance and holier-than-thou mentality is what destroyed my family and what let me cursed again, unable to bring out my true self. And while I am unkillable, a powerful enough group of them could cause me some major problems. And that, Stefan, is why I'm going to rid this world of them… and you're going to help me".

* * *

><p>Bonnie sat on her bed, staring at the grimoire, completely out of ideas of how to break whatever magic was bound to it. She had tried every spell even remotely relevant and even borrowed a page from Jeremy and searched for something online, but nothing worked. The knock on her door startled her as she rushed to throw the covers over it as she looked up to see her dad opening her door. He had been home more often of late and even with everything going on Bonnie still spent more time with him this week than she probably had in the past month. She had no idea what brought on the change, if it was work-related or something else, but frankly she didn't care.<p>

"Hey honey, I was gonna order a pizza, you sticking around for a bit?" he asked her. Ordering out comprised most of their meals as he was an awful cook and Bonnie wasn't much better. He joked that that was the one thing she took after him and not her mother, who, when she was around, always cooked and was damn good at it.

"Uhh, yeah, I'll be here", she said smiling back.

"Ok, I'll make it a large then", he replied. He turned to leave but hesitated, as if there was something on his mind that he really didn't want to bring up. After a moment, he turned back and walked inside her room. "Bonnie, I think we should talk…", he finally said.

"About what?" Bonnie asked, not sure she really wanted an answer, the last time they "talked" he was explaining how her mother was going away for a while.

"About you… and whatever witchcraft you've been up to". Bonnie thought back to the spell she did with Caroline, he must have smelled the candles they used, maybe found some of the grimoires, and put two and two together.

"Dad… I… uhh", Bonnie didn't know how to respond but somehow started to find the words. "I know you don't want me practicing it and are against it but I have to, it's who I am and it's how I can keep the people I care about safe. I'm sorry".

She tried to judge his reaction to what she said but couldn't, his face remained stoic and as if he was seriously contemplating things. After what felt like an eternity for Bonnie, he spoke up. "You're not the one who should be apologizing." Bonnie was a bit taken aback by the statement.

"I wanted you to stay out of that stuff, but it wasn't because I'm against it, it was because I didn't want to lose you too."

"Lose me too?" Bonnie questioned, putting emphasis on the last word.

"Your mother Bonnie, she was a witch just like you. It runs in her family just like it does ours. It's the real reason she left. She said there was some threat out there, a threat that could hurt our family and hurt you, and she needed to deal with it." Bonnie was shocked by the enormity of the explanation. She could barely believe it.

"What kind of threat was she talking about?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know, she didn't explain much, but your Grams seemed to understand it. That was a big part of all the arguing we did afterwards. Anyway, I thought it was time you learned the truth. If you want to keep working on the craft, you have my blessing", he ended with a smile.

Bonnie quickly forgot about the million questions going through her head. "Thanks Dad, and don't worry, witchcraft or not I'm not going anywhere", and with that she hugged him. It was really the first time since Grams's funeral that they embraced. After awhile they came apart.

"So, what was it you were hiding just before I came in?" he asked, grinning.

"Oh nothing, just a stupid spelled book that I have no way of unspelling", Bonnie answered revealing the grimoire from under her covers. Her father picked it up and looked at it suspiciously. "What?" she asked him.

"This looks familiar… yeah I'm sure of it, I remember the tear in the spine right here. This belonged to your mother… where did you find it?"

* * *

><p>"This is a bad idea", Jeremy said, standing on the doorstep of Matt's house, having just knocked, with the ghost of his sister by his side. While he didn't once think about backing out, he was still incredibly nervous about the conversation he was about to have. He rehearsed in his head what he would say, how he would explain everything, but in his head and looking Matt in the eyes weren't even close to the same thing.<p>

"Relax, sure it's gonna be awkward as hell, but it's gonna work out", Vicky responded, trying to reassure him while staying honest. The door then opened revealing Matt, quite a bit surprised at who he saw standing there.

"Jer?" Matt questioned. Back when he and Elena dated the two were actually pretty close, he saw Jeremy a lot like a little brother. But breaking up with Elena was sort of like breaking that up as well. He still looked out for him when he could, like when Tyler would be a dick to him, and they'd make small talk from time to time, but not much beyond that.

"Hey Matt, I know it might seem a bit strange me showing up here and all, but I was hoping I could talk to you… about Vicky", Jeremy answered. Matt really couldn't decide whether to let him in or slam the door. He knew Jeremy was in the know with all the vampire stuff, but he also knew he wasn't always, that he'd been kept in the dark about it just like he had. Jeremy might be the one person who actually understood how he felt about it, and he knew he cared about Vicky. Eventually he stepped to the side gesturing for Jeremy to come in.

"Look, I know this is gonna sound insane so I'll just come right out with it. I died and was brought back to life, only changed. I can sort of now see ghosts, and as crazy as it sounds I can see Vicky, she's here right now actually". Jeremy had figured the best way to handle this was just throw everything out upfront and then explain when needed. Matt, naturally, was stunned at what he said. He might have laughed off the absurdity of it, if he hadn't seen firsthand so many equally absurd things the past few weeks.

"I know it's not easy to believe, but I can prove it…" Jeremy added.

"No, I believe you. I don't know how or why, but I believe you", Matt responded. Jeremy, thinking Vicky had done something to convince him but she shrugged to say that wasn't the case. "I can sort of feel her here in some weird way. I always thought that was something people just said to make themselves feel better, but I guess it's true".

"Well, that wasn't as complicated as I thought it would be", Jeremy replied, he had thought it would take a lot more to get Matt to believe in what he was saying.

"What's she saying, I mean you can like hear her right?" Matt questioned, he might believe in it but he sure had no idea how it worked.

"Yes I can, and she says…", he paused looking to Vicky ready to relay what she wanted to say. "She says she misses you, that she's sorry for everything, for the way she was and for leaving you alone. She says she wants you to move on, to live your life, to be happy again. And she wants to thank you, for always looking out for her and being the best brother she could have ever hoped for, and that she loves you and always will".

Matt, taking in everything Jeremy was telling him, couldn't keep from tearing up. Vicky, in order to stop from doing the same, had purposefully looked away as she told everything to Jeremy, but upon looking at her brother she too began to cry. Jeremy himself, certainly familiar with losing people close to him, was close to tears as well, but was able to fight them off in order to keep relaying everything. Eventually Matt walked over to Jeremy and gave him a look that Jeremy immediately interpreted. He looked off to the side, showing Matt where Vicky was standing.

"I love you too Vick, and I miss you more than anything", he said raising his hand up. Vicky responded by raising hers to meet his, and while it was faint to the point of almost nothing, Matt could swear he could feel it. "Thanks Jer, for doing this, I can't tell you what it means to me", Matt said finally breaking away. Jeremy just nodded in response, not even really sure what to say.

"I guess this could be the last time we see each other", Jeremy spoke up, alluding to the fact that in just a few days Matt would be gone from Mystic Falls, maybe for good.

"Maybe, or maybe not. I don't know what this whole thing going on with you is or how long it will last, but as long as Vicky is here, even as some kind of ghost, I'm not sure I can leave."

"Well if you want to talk to her again some time, I'm here. And I know you don't want to be involved in all this stuff, but there are people in this town who care about you. Take it from someone who knows, just because you think you're alone, doesn't mean you have to be".

* * *

><p>Elena sat in her living room, channel surfing and just relaxing. Everyone had gone off on their own tasks and she decided to try and just take some alone time and get her mind off everything, but it was much easier said than done. She got up and went to the kitchen, thinking something to eat or drink might help. She opened the fridge and examined what was inside, but it only contained some beer (kept for Alaric although for a second she thought about grabbing on herself) and some cartons of leftover Chinese. Alaric was great in a lot of ways, but grocery shopping wasn't one of them. Elena made a mental note to start taking over that duty herself. As she closed the fridge she was startled by someone standing there.<p>

"Damon! You really need to not do that", she said, moving over to grab a glass and pour some water.

"What? Appearing suddenly behind close doors is one of the top perks of being a vampire", he smiled a reply.

"So, did you find anything out, about where Klaus might be?" she asked changing the subject.

"Not really, I thought about calling up some people I know, but then I remembered just about everyone I know either wants to kill me or I've already killed them. So I tried some Internet research but that got nowhere, so I stopped and just decided that I'll put Jeremy or Ric on it", he answered. "Speaking of, you heard anything from either of them or Bonnie or Caroline?"

"Not yet, but if you didn't have any update, why'd you come over?" Elena asked.

"To scare you by appearing behind the fridge, obviously" Damon joked.

"I'm serious Damon", Elena replied, wanting more than just a snarky one-liner in return.

"I don't know, I figured with everyone out doing their own thing you might have wanted a little company… and what better company is there than mine?" Damon explained, throwing in his usual sarcastic bit as well.

"Well I'm fine, I actually sort of enjoyed a little alone time… but thanks" she said offering a smile at him.

"Don't mention it, well I'll let you get back to your Me-time, call if you hear or need anything", he responded and turned to leave.

"Wait" Elena quickly exclaimed, and then after a bit of hesitation she continued. "You don't have to just leave. I was just going to sit and watch some crappy TV, I suppose I can still do that with you here… but don't try anything, we keep a stake in the couch cushion", this time Elena was the one throwing in a joke.

"I wouldn't dream of it, well dream maybe, but that's it", Damon returned with, grinning and leading Elena to roll her eyes but offer a light laugh.

* * *

><p>Alaric wasn't quite sure what he was even doing here. With everything going on, coming to some Mystic Falls High teacher optional meeting seemed way down on the priority list. But he figured keeping up appearances and getting a bit of normalcy was worth it, especially with everyone busy with their own things that day.<p>

"Alaric… I mean Ric", he heard someone from behind him say. He turned to see that woman from his apartment standing there. He hadn't even thought that he might see her here, she was a new teacher after all.

"Meredith, right?" he asked, with everything else on his mind remembering a new face wasn't all that easy.

"Yes, it's good to see you again", she smiled.

"You too, I guess I should have expected as much, this whole thing is mandatory for new faculty isn't it?"

"It is, but I'm glad to see a familiar face here, even if it's a "met one time for about a minute" face. Oh, I should introduce you to my brother, he came with me to meet the teachers and check out the school, he's trying to get as familiar with this place as he can, being the new Sheriff and all".

"New Sheriff?…", Alaric said surprised as Meredith walked away and came back with the Sheriff in tow.

"Ric, this is my brother Mike. Mike, this is Ric, he's a teacher here".

"Oh, me and Ric here have already met once. One of his friends was a bit rowdy and I helped them out, made a little deal with them, isn't that right Ric?" the Sheriff said looking to Alaric.

"Yeah that's right", Alaric said faking a smile.

"Well I'll leave you too to talk, I've got more people to meet and greet, see you around Ric" and with that the Sheriff walked off.

"See you around", Alaric replied.

"He can be a bit too serious at times, but he's a good guy and he'll make a great Sheriff for this place", Meredith said. "From what he's told me, this place might be a bit more dangerous than you think".

"You have no idea", Alaric said under his breath.

* * *

><p>"Are we really going to see a movie right now? Don't the current circumstances we're all in make that seem a bit ridiculous?" Tyler asked as he and Caroline walked up to the movie theater in town. It was a small one, usually only showing a couple movies at a time and almost always either old ones or the ones that had been out for months already. But they really couldn't go to the big theater a couple towns over, so this was it.<p>

"Yes we are, Damon said act normal, and this is normal", Caroline responded.

"It is normal, for like a date or something… are we on a date right now?" Tyler said back.

"What? No, we're just two friends going to see a movie to get our minds off all the incredibly insane stuff that has taken over our lives. Besides, I expect a lot more than this for a first date…", she replied.

"I'll remember that", Tyler responded flashing a smile. The two then got their tickets and some popcorn and watched the movie. It was an old one, or a classic as Caroline labeled it. Some epic love story or something, Tyler lost interest halfway through and sneakily played with his phone while Caroline watched, full attention given, laughing and crying at various points. After it ended the two walked out of the theater.

"I'm so picking the movie next time, something that couldn't double as a sleeping aid", Tyler snarked as they began walking to his car.

"That movie is an all-time classic, which you would have realized if you weren't toying with your phone the whole time", Caroline shot back.

"The Godfather is an all-time classic, that was just a lame and sappy romance".

"Lame? It was a story of two people falling in love and overcoming all obstacles to be together. Of course I guess your idea of a great romance would involve car chases, explosions and tons of nudity", Caroline replied.

"Pretty much. But it would have to be something else too…spontaneous. Seeing the opportunity, throwing caution to the wind, and just going for it, that's what makes a great romance", he answered back.

"What do you mean?" Caroline questioned, quite surprised to hear Tyler talking about romance. Before he answered though, Tyler turned to her, looking into her eyes, and kissed her. Shocked at first, Caroline pulled slightly back, but she soon gave in and kissed him back. The two stood there for awhile, locked in the passionate kiss. Eventually, Tyler pulled away, his hands still holding Caroline's face.

"That… is what I mean".

* * *

><p>"Elena, Alaric, I'm home", Jeremy said walking through the front door and making his way to the living room. He was a bit surprised at what he saw there. "Damon… hey".<p>

Damon nodded a greeting in response and Elena turned around to him. "Hey Jer, how did everything with Matt go?"

"A lot better than I thought it would, awkward at first, but he and Vicky got to say what they needed to each other".

"That's great, it's good to hear some good news for a change", Elena replied.

"Well I might have some more too, Bonnie called and said her dad recognized that grimoire, said it belonged to her mother awhile ago" Jeremy said. This bit of news got Damon's attention.

"So does he know how to crack it?" Damon asked.

"No, but he said he might know someone who could, Bonnie is gonna get the information and try and get in contact with them", Jeremy replied, trailing off towards the end as he saw someone quickly enter the kitchen in the corner of his eye.

"Hey Alaric, I guess you're back too", Jeremy said walking towards the kitchen, but stopped when he noticed it was empty.

"Alaric's not back yet Jer, he was going to have a few drinks with some of our teachers", Elena said unable to keep herself from giggling at the idea.

"You sure, I swear I just saw him go into the kitchen", Jeremy replied, quickly realizing that if whoever he did see wasn't Alaric, it probably was another of his special visitors. Damon and Elena both came to the same conclusion and stood up, looking to Jeremy.

"Vicky and Anna?" Damon asked.

"No, it was definitely a guy, maybe it's John, or Dad, or…", Jeremy stopped as he saw this new visitor standing right in front of him.

"Jer? What is it, or who is it?" Elena asked, a concerned look appearing on her face. Jeremy stood there for a moment, quite surprised at who he was looking at. Finally he gave a response.

"Elijah".


End file.
